Metasite: Birth of a Hero
by MaeRiCk
Summary: This is the prequel to "Metasite" even people who haven't read "Metasite" can read this. It's about Squall's past and how he came to be. Please R&R!
1. Default Chapter

"Listen Rinoa. There's still a lot you don't know about me. I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. But listen to me and please, don't interfere until I'm finished with my story even though it may be really tempting. Don't worry about your classes. They are nothing. Now please, just listen, to my WHOLE story."  
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=Metasite: Birth of a Hero=  
  
Chapter 1: Shady Memories  
  
I was born and lived my early childhood years in the small town of Winhill. It was one of those hic towns where everyone knew everyone else. I can't remember the time spent with my parents too clearly and I only know about Winhill because of my "visit" there seven years after I was taken away.  
  
This early part of my story probably contains the most mystery. But having traveled around the world and talking to various individuals, I think I've got most of it pretty much as close as you can get it.  
  
My name was Leon Loire. I was just a kid growing up in Winhill with my parents' friend's kids. We would play tag and hide and go seek in the town and get free ice cream sundaes from the ice cream man. It was your average "good old days" scene.  
  
These were probably the happiest times of my life. But I don't remember them very well.  
  
The Galbadian army has an exclusive device known as a EP101 Metasite Radar. This device always them to track metasite activity across the globe. How the device works is that it feeds off the particle energy that is given off by a metasite the first time it comes into contact with it's host. This process can happen within two years of a metasite's birth or not until they are twenty. It is totally random. For me, it was when I was five years old.  
  
This I can remember clearly. My father, a fairly good journalist by the name of Laguna Loire, brought me out hiking one day. It was a beautiful day.  
  
I really liked my old man. He was outgoing and fun (at least from what I've heard and a little from what I remember). Unfortunately, I only spent five years with my parents.  
  
My mother was a pretty woman who was born and raised in Winhill. She was quiet and polite and generally a nice lady. She seemed to contrast greatly with my loud and fun-loving dad with his shoulder length brown hair and ever-present smirk. But nonetheless, they got along well all the time.  
  
Anyway, back to the hiking trip. My dad and I were hiking to the top of this huge mountain. The air was fresh and there was a healthy breeze. When we reached the top I looked out to the sea and something seemed to awaken within me. It was the most peculiar feeling. I had no clue what it was at the time and I was sort of afraid. Well, you know what little kids do when they're afraid. My eyes got wide and I told my dad what was happening to me.  
  
"Hmmm...I don't know about that" he said "Maybe you're just hungry. Come on, let's get off this rock and get something to eat. I'm feeling a little strange myself."  
  
We hiked down and walked back to our house for dinner. My dad was right...or so it seemed...after dinner I was feeling fine.  
  
But that night, something terrible happened. That night was the night that would transform me from the happy, and joyful little kid to a man that would one day slay countless numbers of men.  
  
It was around 10:00 at night and I was in my room sleeping. My mom and my dad were in their room watching television. This part of the story is blurry for me but this is where my contacts gave me as much info as I could find.  
  
There was a knock on the door and my dad went to check who it was. About five Galbadian officers from the "Metasite Retrieval" Squadron came to "pick up their package".  
  
They showed my dad official printouts from the Metasite radar and official documents that gave them the right to claim the metasite in the house. All my dad had to do was sign on the dotted line.  
  
Well, of course my dad refused. He told them that there was no way they were going to take his son. And he was well prepared to fight them for his son's freedom.  
  
Unfortunately for my old man, the officers were well prepared for a fight as well. The leader dropped my dad with a revolver bullet to the head. My mom was in my room protecting me.  
  
The soldiers barreled into my room and told my mom what had happened to dad. I remember some bits and pieces of conversation. They said it was "tragic" that my dad didn't want a peaceful conclusion.  
  
My mom called them all bastards and pulled out a hidden knife in her nightgown but she too was shot by the Galbadian officers. I remember one of the bullets grazing my shoulder and leaving it soaked with blood. But then miraculously I felt a tingling coldness in my shoulder and my blood became blue smoke and healed the wound. I opened my mouth to scream but was silenced by a gloved hand over my mouth.  
  
"Yep, definitely a metasite" the leader said and then he gassed me.  
  
This is the part of the story which I remember clearly. From this point on, it is one hundred percent my own experience.  
  
I remember waking up to a large white room and being strapped down to a bed of some sort by these sheets of fabric. At the time, all I was thinking about was where my mom and dad were. I struggled against the sheets but to no avail. Then I heard a kind voice blare out over some sort of intercom system.  
  
"It's okay. Don't worry. Everything will be fine." it said.  
  
The voice was a woman's voice and she sounded nice enough so I just rested. I was just a kid who didn't know anything.  
  
"There you go. Just relax." she said.  
  
Then a door opened up from a corner of the room and a thin teenage girl walked in dressed in a white lab coat.  
  
"Hi, sorry about the straps but they're mandatory. My name's Ellone." she said.  
  
"Where am I?" I asked.  
  
"You're in Galbadia Garden's Infirmary." she said.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Don't worry about that for now. Everything will become clear later on. Right now I just need to run some lab scans and then I'll tell you everything." she said.  
  
She pushed a button on some sort of remote control and the straps loosened up and let me move again. I sat up and stretched a little.  
  
"I'll be right back. Just wait here." she said.  
  
Wait here. She went out the door and closed it. I heard the locking mechanism click shut. I wasn't going anywhere. But wait a minute. How did I hear that? It must have been very soft yet I heard it like it was an alarm clock.  
  
SHOOP CLICK  
  
It was the lock inside sliding in and then locking the door. I covered my ears with my hands and it sort of dampened the sound a little. Ellone must have been watching because when she returned she asked me why I did that.  
  
"I don't know. I just all of a sudden heard that lock shut." I told her. Her eyes went wide with shock but she instantly hitched back her calm demeanor and replaced her open mouth with a slight grin.  
  
"Congratulations Squall. I've just finished running the tests and all the results are positive. You're a metasite." she said.  
  
"A what?"  
  
"A metasite Squall. The soldiers also tell me you were scratched with a bullet but recovered instantly. I don't know if you remember it or not." she said.  
  
I thought back and did remember the bullet and my blood turning blue. It creeped me out.  
  
"Yeah I remember. But you still haven't told me what a metasite is."  
  
"A metasite is a symbiotic creature. This is probably too advanced for you to understand...Let's just put it this way, let's say there's an animal living inside you and it's like your pet. Only you don't have to do anything like walk it or feed it. It lives off of you. This pet is just like a dog or something like that...It can help you and protect you. But we have to teach you how to use him first."  
  
This last part REALLY freaked me and I was just totally sickened at having a dog living in my body. It did NOT sit well I can tell you that.  
  
"What?! What if I don't WANT you to help me?" I said. "I want my dad!"  
  
She sighed. "I'm sorry Squall. But your parents are dead. They were killed." she said.  
  
I thought back again and remembered vaguely the soldiers. And I put two and two together and realized what had happened...  
  
"B-b-but..." I stuttered but was stopped as another figure entered the room.  
  
He was a slim man who stood at about six feet. His skin was dark and his hair was set in a weird braided style. Despite his slender build, I could see that this was not a man who was weak. His arms were muscular and the look on his face was one of a soldier who had seen many battles.  
  
"Lieutenant Kiros!" saluted Ellone.  
  
"Ellone, the boy is supposed to be at the training center now. I've been waiting for him for five minutes already. Why did you take so long?" he asked her. His voice was firm but soft and he did not speak to Ellone in a way that was hostile.  
  
"I'm sorry sir. I got carried away. I was telling him what a metasite was."  
  
Me, being the smart aleck that I am, decided to say something stupid.  
  
"Yeah, and I don't WANNA be a metasite!" I said in between floods of tears. I still couldn't believe my parents were dead.  
  
The man called Kiros looked down at me and stared for a while. Nobody spoke a word and the only sound was the sound of my occasional sobs.  
  
He bent down and put a hand on my shoulder. I dropped my gaze.  
  
"Listen, I'm Lieutenant Kiros Seagill. Stop crying and look me in the eye." he said.  
  
I didn't know why but something about him seemed to make me listen to him. He was not threatening me nor was he raising his voice. He just merely told me what I should do in a calm voice. And I did it. I didn't want people to see that I was weak. My dad always told me never to let people see I'm weak. I did it for my dad.  
  
I bit back tears and slowly raised my eyes to meet the dark brown orbs of the Lieutenant.  
  
He smiled a little.  
  
"I will teach you. I will be your instructor and you will learn how to harness the power of your metasite." he said.  
  
I didn't say anything. I just looked him in the eye. I had to face my fears, for my parents' sake.  
  
"What is your name?" he asked.  
  
"Leon Loire." I said. I didn't choke it out this time. I said it firmly and clearly and held back all my tears.  
  
"That is a name that is not worthy for a warrior. Today you start a new life. Forget about your old one and focus on the new one. I am giving you a new name today. A name that every person in the world will one day learn to fear. From this day forth, you shall be known as Squall Leonhart."  
  
AN: That's it for Chapter one! This chapter explains why Laguna and Squall's names are different =) And a whole bunch of other stuff about Squall's past. I also introduced Ellone and Kiros to the story. Hope you guys like it so far. I'm having a lot of fun writing this one. Remember to leave a review! Thanks! 


	2. Chapter 2: Discovery of the Metasite

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8 or any of the characters from FF8. I forgot to put this thing on my last chapter lol  
  
AN: Wow, you guys are a bunch of smart reviewers! I'll give shout outs at the end. I'm not giving anything away ~_^ But I'm glad all of you liked the story. Oh and just to let you guys know, this story is slightly darker than "Metasite" though I doubt any of you would really care =P Anyway, here's chapter 2.  
  
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Chapter 2: Discovery of the Metasite  
  
My instructor/mentor, Kiros was a metasite. He had retired from fighting and turned to teaching. Kiros was a formidable fighter and was awarded an S rank in Galbadia's SeeD forces.  
  
Many soldiers are great on the battlefield but terrible at transferring what they knew to a pupil. That was not the case with Kiros. The man was possibly an even better instructor than fighter. He had a way with words and he could also see weaknesses in his pupils that he could exploit and get rid of.  
  
Because of this, Kiros only dealt with the higher level metasites. He would only teach metasites with a rank of A or higher. I didn't know this when I first came to Galbadia Garden. Much later on I would find out why he dropped all his other students and only focused on my training...  
  
Ellone went and got me a new Galbadian uniform and I got ushered into a changing room to change out of my old pajamas and into my black and red jacket and pants. After that, Kiros took me and led me down a bunch of hallways. I remember thinking about my dad and mom and how they were both killed. I wanted to find out who killed them.  
  
The Galbadian soldiers all had masks so I couldn't tell which ones were the murderers. I would go to any lengths to find them and then question them about what they did.  
  
"Squall, here's your room." said Kiros.  
  
I didn't even know he was talking to me at first because of the name. I looked up and noticed him looking at me and then remembered what he told me.  
  
I liked Kiros. He was a kind man but at the same time he had an air of authority around him. I didn't know much to think of the name. When you're five years old, you don't really care what your name really is.  
  
The only thing I would miss about the name is my last name. I reached down and touched the ring on my left hand's ring finger. That would be my last remaining memory of my parents. Even my name was gone now.  
  
"Go on in. Get some sleep. I'll come wake you up tomorrow and I'll take you to your classes." Kiros said.  
  
"Classes?"  
  
What? What classes?  
  
"Oh Ellone didn't tell you." he shook his head "This is a Garden Squall. This place is a military school. What happened with your dad was an accident...I-it couldn't be helped. He would have wanted you to come here."  
  
In all the years I've know Kiros, that would be the only time I've seen him show a flicker of doubt. I picked it up too and I knew he was keeping something from me. What it was I didn't know. But I just stared at him and then walked into my room.  
  
I don't think I could have gone to sleep that night had I not been that tired. I was exhausted and collapsed onto the bed immediately.  
  
The next morning, I really got a good look around the room. It wasn't bad for a dorm actually. It had a small desk, and a lamp for my homework, and a cupboard for my clothes. The bed was small but it fit me fine. I was midget sized back then.  
  
I only got a few hours of sleep that night and woke up at around 6 in the morning. Kiros came around at about 7 and handed me a cereal bar.  
  
"I wanted you to sleep in. Everyday you will wake up at 6:30 and eat breakfast with the other children in the cafeteria. Today I brought you a bit of breakfast because you had a rough night." he said.  
  
Ironically, I was up half an hour before breakfast was even served.  
  
I ate my cereal bar and asked Kiros questions about Galbadia Garden. Kiros told me the answers but he saw through me like newly cleaned glass.  
  
"You better stop thinking about your past Squall. This is a new life and it will do you no good to dwell in your old one." he said.  
  
But I couldn't. I was obsessed with the people who killed my parents. Even though over time, the obsession died down, it never went completely away...  
  
Kiros brought me out to the open fields outside Galbadia Garden and I joined a group of three other kids. They all looked like they knew what they were doing and all of them looked at me like I was a slug or something nasty on their shoe.  
  
Kiros just dropped me there and told me an instructor would be there soon. I stood there uncomfortable facing the other kids. It's amazing how early bullying starts.  
  
The kids were all older than me and bigger than me.  
  
"So you're the new kid?" one of them said.  
  
I met his gaze with a cold hard stare of my own. I was different from them. I was an outcast.  
  
Again, I learned later that most of the metasites who go there are not orphans. Their parents usually are very proud of them when they get chosen to go. Metasites were considered a great honor to have in the family.  
  
"What's the matter? Can't speak?" he said. The other boys were laughing.  
  
I just kept staring at him without emotion in my eyes. You see, a strong person toughens up even more if something bad happens to them. Having your parents killed when you're five years old does that to you.  
  
There was no love in me anymore. One day took away all the love I had before. I probably would have fought those three kids that day. But I didn't because the instructor just arrived.  
  
"Morning kids" he said.  
  
The guy was a mountain. HUGE! He had a bandanna on and a nasty scar running down half the side of his face covering one of his eyes. He was an imposing figure.  
  
"Sir!" everybody saluted except for me.  
  
"Well, it looks like we have a new arrival." said the instructor. "Kiros told me about you. I'm instructor Ward Zabac. You'll be taking group classes with me and then privates with Kiros" he said.  
  
Like Kiros, he was friendly and I quickly figured that he was an okay guy. In Galbadia, metasites are trained in groups of four or less for their basic metasite skills and one on one for their metablade skills. Since every metasite's blade is different, it requires private training.  
  
It is common for metasites to be found every once in a while and so they had no fixed class dates. I was not lucky because the class that was the most preliminary was already two weeks into their lessons. Most of the boys in the class had well over a week's practice.  
  
I was so confused I didn't know what to do. But I was determined not to let them know it. "Okay everyone, this is Squall" said Ward "Squall this is Jonas, Stefan, and Brad"  
  
The three boys threw me dirty looks and I just ignored them. Ward could see there was already tension building so he changed the subject.  
  
"Uhhh we're going to be working on agility today. It is possibly a metasite's most important attribute" he told us.  
  
Metasite training is based a lot on practice and very little theory. Ward explained a little about the back thrusters of a metasite and how they could be used to give a metasite extra speed.  
  
I was in the clouds when he was telling us this. NO CLUE. I still didn't even know what a metasite was. Up until then, I had envisioned a sort of dog popping out of my skin. Creepy thought.  
  
Then Ward told us to all "suit up" as he called it. And I nearly shit myself.  
  
All three of the boys AND Ward looked like their intestines were getting pulled out of their backs and then strangling them. I had a look of horror on my face. Then it looked like a bunch of bony plates were gluing themselves onto their intestine-covered skin. Believe me, you haven't seen anything gross until you've seen a metasite transformation for the first time.  
  
It all ended in a split second and there were four insect-looking creatures standing in front of me. They had become monsters.  
  
Then one of the boys turned around and pushed the other one jokingly. The guy flew back and landed on his feet with catlike grace.  
  
"Quit fooling around you two" said the huge metasite. It was Ward. I still couldn't believe it.  
  
I had my mouth hanging open and Ward came over to me.  
  
"It's okay, don't worry. First time's always a little creepy."  
  
Understatement of the millenium.  
  
"Now, listen to what I say. Keep a clear head and reach out with your mind. You should feel something like an electric charge in your head. Touch it." he said.  
  
I could hear the boys in the background making fun of me. They wanted to laugh at me when I couldn't do it. Kiros told me that it usually takes a whole lesson to be able to "touch" the metasite and use it's power...I did it on my first try.  
  
For the second time that day, I almost shit myself...It felt like a dozen snakes were sprouting out of my back. Then my whole body was ice cold but quickly came back to a comfortable temperature. I opened my eyes and saw the world in sharper colors than I have ever seen before. My eye was like a telescope and a binocular in one. And this telescope/binocular didn't need adjusting. I wanted to look up close, it automatically focused up close at exactly what I wanted to see. It even followed whatever it was I wanted to follow. A bird in the distance for example. It was just mind-boggling! The best telescope in the WORLD couldn't do this! I spent what seemed like ages just looking at everything. I could see the crickets in the grass and follow them in the air while they jumped all the while counting the spines on their legs!  
  
I revisited the hearing I experienced in the "waiting room" where I heard the lock. But this time, I could control it. I could hear Ward's voice like it was normal but I could also crank it up so it was like a stereo system on full blast.  
  
"Are yoU OKAY?" I was playing with the sounds.  
  
"Y-yeah I'm fine." I said. My voice came out normal. No distortions or anything.  
  
"You are?" he asked. He seemed to be shocked.  
  
"Yeah...this is just...crazy" I said.  
  
That was the only word for it. Crazy.  
  
All my senses were so enhanced and so easily controllable. It's like I didn't even have to think about them! Like walking or eating.  
  
But the senses weren't even the most amazing thing about the metasite. I still remember it...The power. The awesome sense of invincibility...Nothing could challenge me! Nothing and nobody! I was a different person! The total cool, confidence of the metasite distilled itself into my brain.  
  
I can't even explain it. It's like all of a sudden I was unstoppable. I was afraid of nothing...  
  
I hadn't even done anything yet. I hadn't taken a step in the strange new armor and that feeling of fear and wanting to shit my pants disappeared entirely even though I knew it should still be there...but it wasn't. Like I said, I hadn't even taken a step, and already I could feel that power welling up inside of me. It felt like a year while I was discovering this new power. But in fact it wasn't even a minute.  
  
"You're sure you're okay?" Ward asked again.  
  
"Yes...I'm okay." I replied.  
  
Ward didn't know I heard him say this until almost ten years later. But my hearing was so sensitive that I picked out the tiniest of whispers.  
  
"...Dear Hyne...Kiros was right..." AN: Done! This chapter probably didn't explain a lot *sweatdrop* but I just wanted it to be about Squall's new life in the Garden and how it feels to be a metasite. I'm glad all of you picked those things out from the first chapter. This story would probably be more effective when read through the second time since there are lots of subtle details all over the place =) Shout outs now (I'll do the shout outs for the reviews of Metasite chapter 20 here as well):  
  
Etherealist: Thanks for your review for chapter 20. I don't RP much so a "moder" is a new term for me =P Yes, I sort of exaggerated. But I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not in an earlier chapter, but the metasites are supposed to be the ultimate combat design. So basically, they're supposed to be all powerful lol Yes the killing scene was supposed to be brutal   
  
remote mine: Kudos to you for being the first reviewer of this story! The fact that Squall understands death at a young age was done on purpose. Keep on reading to see why ~_^  
  
Angefantasy: Keep wondering...lol Thanks for the review. You'll find out in time why Squall sides with Galbadia.  
  
Ari-Morrigan: You're my reviewer of the week! Hahaha love your reviews (not to say I don't like any of the other ones). The memory thing will once again be mentioned in a later chapter (next chapter possibly *hint hint*) so just keep reading and reviewing! Glad you got the hook!  
  
Okay that's about it. Time to start writing Chapter 3! 


	3. Chapter 3: The Prodigal Child

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8 or any of the characters from FF8.  
  
AN: Cool, quite a few reviews this time! Thanks everyone! You guys are awesome, shout outs at the end! This chapter is a tiny bit different but should be quite a nice read. Hopefully you guys will like it! R&R Please!  
  
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Chapter 3: The Prodigal Child  
  
Let's take a break from the mainstream story for a second. I'm going to tell you a little bit more. I'm going to tell you stuff I didn't even know at the time.  
  
Metasite memory is very good. It's like having a second brain to store all your information. There have been some very important pieces of information that I have sworn never to forget. Pieces of information that I've memorized thoroughly.  
  
I'm going to tell you one of those pieces of information right now. It's a scene from Kiros' past. It was a scene that was kept from me for five years until one day Kiros, himself told me.  
  
That scene explained everything to me up to that point...  
  
"Hey guys" Kiros said.  
  
It was late at night. Around 2 in the morning. The metasite retrieval squad had just returned.  
  
"Kiros, what're you doing up so late?" said Ward "I was just about to get to bed myself till I heard the retrieval squad just pulled in"  
  
"I just wanted to get a glass of water" said Kiros.  
  
The front doors opened and in walked the retrieval squad. In their arms was a skinny kid with messy brown hair that was too long and near perfect features.  
  
Kiros stopped dead in his tracks and surveyed the kid with his metasite vision.  
  
"Shit Ward" he said.  
  
Ward calmly shifted his pale eyes to Kiros.  
  
"What?"  
  
"That kid" said Kiros "don't you see it?"  
  
"No..." Ward thought Kiros was just tired.  
  
Kiros felt as awake as he'd been six hours earlier.  
  
"Ward, that kid's got something in him." he said in a barely audible whisper.  
  
"Yeah, he's a metasite" said Ward much more loudly.  
  
"No you idiot, look closely. There's something more to this kid" said Kiros.  
  
"I still don't see it..."  
  
Kiros just shook his head and followed the retrieval squad's captain. The kid had been ushered off into a separate room for tests to see if he was a metasite or not. Kiros already knew the answer to that question.  
  
"Captain" said Kiros "who was that metasite you just brought in?"  
  
The captain saluted and then rummaged through his bag pulling out a file.  
  
"Ummm his name is Leon Loire. He's from Winhill and he's five years old sir." said the captain.  
  
Kiros' eyes widened. This kid was destined for him.  
  
"Leon Loire..." he whispered.  
  
That name would have to go. Kiros would not be able to stand that name for very long. He was afraid that even a metasite like him would soon crumble to his own past. The boy's father is dead. Killed by the soldiers no doubt. He knew what their orders were. They had every right to kill the kid's parents if they didn't give him up freely. They would not have given in freely.  
  
Kiros had been looking for a student. He retired from the army early last year and had been on the lookout ever since. He had found no one he liked so he just sat around and did nothing.  
  
Normally, this would not have been allowed. But because he was Kiros, they made exceptions. Kiros only taught once a week. He taught a different A-S class metasite every week. This wouldn't really help the metasites since once a week is nothing in terms of training. But they still lined up in neat little lines every week to get chosen.  
  
Why? Because Kiros was the best metasite the Galbadians had. He was probably the best in the world at the time. He held the record for just about everything. He was a spectacular teacher as well as leader and he led the Galbadians to many victories. Everybody wanted the instruction of Kiros. Even if it was just for two hours. "Thanks captain, tell Ellone in there to send the kid to the cafeteria in fifteen minutes. The tests should be done by then."  
  
The captain saluted and walked away into a side room beside the one the kid went into.  
  
Kiros went to the cafeteria and got his glass of water. He sat there waiting for what seemed like an hour. He couldn't wait any longer. Once fifteen minutes was up, he went back to the room with the kid and walked in. He saw Ellone talking to the kid.  
  
The conversation was clear in Kiros' ears. His metasite hearing accenting every syllable. Ellone was telling this Leon kid about his parents. The kid was crying. Who wouldn't be crying?  
  
Kiros could see the look of mingled anger and confusion on Leon's face. The look of a warrior. He knew this kid was meant for him.  
  
After exchanging words with Leon, Kiros was not disappointed. He learnt quickly and he suppressed his past. Something extremely difficult to do at such a young age.  
  
After christening the kid Squall Leonhart, Kiros directed him to his room and left him.  
  
On his way to see the headmaster, Kiros bumped into Ward again.  
  
"Where've you been?" asked Ward.  
  
"I've been with the kid Ward"  
  
"What do you see in that kid?"  
  
Kiros breathed a sigh and shook his head.  
  
"I've seen many metasites Ward. Many top fighters and strong soldiers. That kid has something I've never seen before. I don't know what it is about him, but whatever it is, it's something none of us have. Not you, not me, NONE of us have what this kid has"  
  
And that was all he said before heading off to the headmaster and telling him he had found a pupil...  
  
Ward was impressed by my quick learning. He found that he only had to set aside five minutes to teach me the basics of how to control a metasite and then the rest was all natural. Our agility class was surprisingly fun since all we did the whole class was try to zoom around the forest as quickly as we could.  
  
Controlling a metasite is different from controlling your own body. It's almost like you have to call up different parts of your body. It's difficult to explain if you haven't felt it yourself. But it's like there are pockets of energy dispersed withing your body and you have to reach out and touch those "pockets" to utilize the full extent of a metasite's powers.  
  
I learnt how to use the thrusters and wings at the back of the metasite during Ward's class. But that was nothing, NOTHING compared to what I would learn in Kiros' class.  
  
My first lesson with Kiros was a day that would forever be etched into my memory. The day I truly found a passion for something. It was a glorious day. It was fantastic.  
  
It would also be the beginning of something I could never forgive myself for.  
  
We stepped into the damp training center. It was covered in dense trees and tropical plants. Kiros led me over to an enclosed area where the monsters were kept from by an electrical fence.  
  
"Squall. I know you're very tired from last night but I wanted you to learn something. The sooner you learn it, the better it'll be for you" he said.  
  
I didn't feel tired at all. It was like I was reborn after my session with Ward.  
  
I didn't care what those other kids said about me. There comments meant nothing to me. They could laugh all they wanted. I knew I had power now, and I could use this power to get my revenge. I didn't know there would be more.  
  
"I'm not tired" I said.  
  
"Then that's good, you'll learn how to wield a weapon"  
  
I was so surprised my mouth was hanging open. Why would I need a weapon when I could throw a punch that could knock a grown man's head off?  
  
"B-but..." I started to say  
  
"No buts, listen to me. I believe Ward told you how to use the metasite?" he asked.  
  
I nodded silently.  
  
"Good, now reach out inside. You'll notice a particularly strong surge of power unlike all the others" he said "Don't worry if you can't find it now. You'll learn to find it later. I just want to s-" he stopped.  
  
I remember seeing the hilt of Lionheart at my side. It just materialized like the armor. I looked at it then looked at Kiros not sure what this new thing was. It didn't look like a weapon. It looked more like a cross between a bug and a handgun not really dangerous looking. Kiros had his eyes wide open staring at the weapon.  
  
"Wow, that's quite impressive" he said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, normally it takes people quite awhile before they can call up their metablade. You did it just like that" he snapped his fingers.  
  
"It's not that hard" I said.  
  
"Okay, then that's not the point. Let's get down to business" he said  
  
He then called his own suit up and ignited what looked like two blades from his wrists. His metablades were katals, extremely sharp, long blades that extended from the upper wrists of both hands.  
  
"Ignite your blade. Feel it, use your mind to reach out to it" he said  
  
I gripped the handle of the weapon as if I was holding a gun and held it up. I felt within the weapon and was shocked to find there was even more power inside it. I did as Kiros told and my eyes lit up as a deadly looking blade began to materialize from the hilt up. It was beautiful. Bright blue and white, it almost gave of a shine.  
  
"Very good" said Kiros "now Squall, the blade should feel light in your hands. You have your metasite armor on and that will give you the strength to wield this blade easily"  
  
While I was still looking at my blade, Kiros dashed at me. He moved lightning quick and he slashed at me with one of his blades. It was a blow that would have cleanly cut me in half. I didn't have time to think, just react. I brought my blade up with a quickness that would never be achieved by a grown man let alone a five year old, I just put it in front of my face.  
  
The blow knocked my about ten feet back and into a tree. It didn't hurt as much as I expected. But that doesn't mean it didn't hurt. It felt like somebody smashed me in the back with a sledgehammer. The wind was knocked out of me.  
  
I could barely lift my head to look up. But at the same time I felt the pain diminishing. I saw the same bluish smoke that I saw when the bullet scratched me. I looked at Kiros. His metasite armor was gone. He was looking down at me and...smiling?  
  
"That's enough for today" he said "sorry about that Squall, I had to make sure"  
  
AN: Hehe, I had a little Matrix reference in there at the end =P couldn't resist hahaha Anyway, this was sort of a chapter that was a little messed up from the other chapters. I saw Kill Bill the other night and that anime section in there inspired me to do something similar =) If you don't like this chapter, I don't blame ya, just keep reading 'cause the other chapters will be more like the last part of this chapter. Now for shout outs!  
  
remote mine: thanks for being a dedicated reviewer =) I didn't realize the beginning part sounded like Cloud lol that part is put in there for a very special reason. You'll see why later on ~_^  
  
Ari-Morrigan: another dedicated reviewer, this chapter explains why Ward says his "Dear Hyne" comment hahaha  
  
Angefantasy: thanks a lot for the comments! Keep reading to find out more. Like I said, there are lot's of subtle hints here and there in the story.  
  
Lugia-mew: hope you found out what Kiros was right about hahaha if not, I kinda feel sorry for ya =P Thanks for the comments though, appreciate it.  
  
Etherealist: Yes I exaggerate, almost too much hahaha I'll pop by when I have time and read your fic and then leave a review there as well. Must be good since you seem to know quite a bit about good writing ~_^  
  
Selphie Tilmitt-Kinneas: You're back! Good to see you caught up with the story. Keep reading!  
  
Angie: Yes Squall is very powerful in this story hahaha I won't update the other one till this one is finished since there isn't really a point *sweatdrop* but keep reading this one and then you'll understand the other one better!  
  
Alright, thanks for your reviews. I'll give shout outs every time a new chapter is posted so if you want one, just review! Simple as that! Thanks once again to everyone. Chapter four is on it's way! 


	4. Chapter 4: Showdown With the Three Stoog...

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8 or any of the characters from FF8.  
  
AN: Yay! More reviews! Glad you all liked the last chapter. Hope I get just as many reviews for this one. I'm quite busy these days so your reviews are what keep this story up ^_^ Here's Chapter 4.  
  
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Chapter 4: Showdown With The Three Stooges  
  
My training went on that every day. Was it tough? For sure. Was I a wuss? Definitely not. I stuck to my training religiously and Kiros and Ward were definitely pleased. My improvement was drastic and day after day, I was making progress.  
  
My mastery with the strange pistol-grip metablade that I wielded was astonishing. After a year at the Garden, I could spar with kids twice my age and come out on the winning side. It wasn't just talent that got me that far. It was also many hours of hard work.  
  
I remember I used to buy those "Chocobo Candies" the small round pellets that were filled with chocolate. They came in packages of about 100 each. But I didn't buy them to eat. I used them to train myself. I'd take about a handful of 10 or so and just toss them into the air, draw my sword, and try to cut each one of them before the fell to the ground. It worked on my speed, hand-eye coordination, and blade work. But it was hellishly hard to clean up since I'd have these "Chocobo Candy" halves all over my carpet which I would have to vacuum up later.  
  
People looked up to me and respected me and lots of kids wanted to be my friend. Of course, I had a lot of friends but I had no intention of getting truly close with any of them. I always kept my distance. Never letting anyone into my room or sitting with anyone at the lunch table. I just said hi to them in the hallways and basically acknowledged their existence.  
  
I was a natural celebrity at the Garden. I was the lone wolf. As you may well know, being a celebrity grants you many allies but also many enemies.  
  
Like I said before, because finding metasites is such a random occasion, the Garden doesn't like to change classes or anything like that. I was always stuck with the same three guys that I started out with. Remember those three guys? Jonas, Stefan, and Brad?  
  
Metasites are naturally quicker to mature than normal kids. By the age of 6 I had the mental capacity of a 12 year old. The three kids were all around the age of 10 but maybe they were just idiots, 'cause none of them matured. They acted like they were three. And they didn't smarten up.  
  
Ward was always getting me to do demonstrations and stuff in our classes and telling them to watch. Maybe they didn't like a six year old beating them in everything they did, or maybe it was Ward's comments about how I was better than them, or maybe they just didn't like me from the moment I walked into their class. One day, we were working on speed dodging. The drill was for us to dodge bullets. Bullets don't really harm metasites but since we were just youths and still in training, they would seriously harm us. At that time, we hadn't learned how to use energy shields to block them so we had to rely on dodging. Ward just used foam bullets so they wouldn't hurt if they hit us. Foam bullets are dyed bright orange and they sort of squash and stick onto the metasite armor so you can see clearly how many times the bullets hit.  
  
The foam bullets were loaded into a standard issue Gatling gun and remotely fired at us one by one. I had been practicing dodging by myself as well by using the rain. I would pick two points, say from one street to the other and run across trying to dodge all the rain drops. Of course, this didn't work because of the sheer amount of rain drops but at least it helped my speed a little. Dodging raindrops is also very different from dodging bullets.  
  
However, I could see that the Gatling gun fired a continuous stream of foam bullets that were in a straight line. It was not a spray, which was good. As long as I could stay away from that stream of bullets I was good to go. That was like dodging one line of raindrops that followed me wherever I went. Not TOO hard.  
  
I went first. I activated my metasite armor and walked up to the circle which was our zone for dodging. If I went outside the circle, it wouldn't count. I could see the laser tracking device on the gun specifically programmed to lock onto metasite signatures.  
  
I focused on the Gatling gun and heard the bullets click into place and the first shots being fired. The turning barrels slightly threw my calculations off but I was still able to cleanly dodge the bullets. I turned my body and saw them go whizzing by. I had to keep this up for thirty seconds. No problem.  
  
The bullets came sweeping back, just a blur of orange. I ducked and they passed over my head. I came out on the other side and saw as if in slow motion the bullets coming at me again. I arched my body backwards and did a semi-backflip which succeeded in throwing off the laser sensor. That bought me about ten seconds in itself since the sensor took some time to re- organize itself and find me.  
  
The thirty seconds came and gone. Definitely easier than dodging raindrops since it was just one stream and not a spray.  
  
"Nicely done Squall." commented Ward.  
  
"Thanks" I said and walked off.  
  
"Stefan? You're up."  
  
Stefan, this kid with bleach blond hair that spiked upwards and a hooked nose, stepped up to the circle and smirked at me as if to say "nothing special".  
  
The other kids also gave me the same "nothing special" look on their faces and Jonas even said if I could do it then anyone could. That was a stupid comment and I didn't even say anything since we both knew that it was not true.  
  
Turns out, they came out of it looking like carrots and Ward yelled at them.  
  
"Man, you guys just can't do anything can you? Look at Squall!" he said. It wasn't the first time he said that. "He's like 4 years younger than you and he can do it perfectly! Just go. I don't think I can stand seeing you for the rest of the day." he said and then shook his head very disappointingly.  
  
The three idiots turned their backs feeling very angry indeed. Ward gave me a pat on the back and said I really shouldn't belong in this class and that seemed to bring them over the edge.  
  
Fights aren't uncommon in a military academy. Garden is such a big place that having constant security has become more or less impossible and the staff basically gave up on it. People turning up with bruises and black eyes the next day are generally overlooked. But if someone gets KILLED, then you'll bet your backside that you'll get caught and then thrown out but not before getting whipped to an inch of your life. They don't like people getting killed. We all know it, that's why nobody dares draw their weapons unless they're in classes or something.  
  
Anyways, I had a little encounter with Jonas, Stefan, and Brad. I knew it was coming. Don't forget I was only 6 at the time and they weren't much older. But growing up in that kind of environment, metasites pick things up real fast. These three kids must've heard rumors of fights and stuff and got their own ideas on who to beat up. I was on the top of their list.  
  
It was about 9 at night and I was just on my way to the showers. Kiros had put me through my paces that day and made me fight him over and over again until he decided I had had enough. I was pretty tired and ready for a nice warm shower and then bed. Well, there's a little stretch of hallway between the showers and my room that's usually empty at night since most people like to shower in the morning. I prefer the night.  
  
The hallway was dimly lit and basically was the perfect spot to stage an ambush. The three guys were waiting for me there. They were quite prepared too, armed in their metasite armors, they blocked off the hallway and possible cleared out all the other students there too. It wasn't hard, it was the junior wing and there weren't many people out at this time of night.  
  
"Hey Fishy. How's it going?" Brad said.  
  
They always called me Fishy. It was their nickname for me, no idea why. Maybe 'cause I was water element or something but Fishy was supposed to be funny.  
  
"Brad, you better not screw with Fishy, he's supposed to be a real good fighter." Jonas said sarcastically.  
  
"Yeah man, the Fishy's the instructor's best boy. He's real fancy when doing those drills, better not tick him off." piped Stefan.  
  
I calmly folded my towel and put it on the floor laying my clothes on it.  
  
"Come on Fishy, we haven't even seen you fight before!"  
  
"Maybe it's 'cause I don't spar with you guys. The instructors won't let me since I'll cripple you too badly." I said.  
  
"Ohhhh really? I wanna see first hand Fishy!"  
  
"Yeah, that's just an excuse!"  
  
And they attacked. I was not scared at all. The corridor was not very wide which was perfect for me since they didn't have too much room to move around.  
  
I activated my metasite and stood waiting for them to get to me. Jonas came at me with a high kick which just shows how much he's learnt in class. You NEVER use a high kick as a first attack. I whipped my hands out and grabbed his leg and in one swift movement threw him into Brad who was about to hit me with a punch. I sent them both backwards and then grabbed Stefan's arm just as he was about to use a left hook at my head. I twisted his arm so I could hear the exoskeleton crack then I kicked him while still holding his arm. I gave him three blows to his abdomen that had enough force to knock the wind out of a full grown T-rexaur. Stefan just crumpled.  
  
Apparently, Brad and Jonas still thought they had a chance of beating me up and teaching me a lesson. They came at me again. This time I nimble dodged the wild swings of the two bigger kids. I ducked under one of Brad's swipes and quickly went into his undefended chest cavity. I kneed him in the stomach and then while he was still in the air, I punched him so he flew about 15 meters back and lay in an unmoving heap. Now all that was left was Jonas.  
  
He still didn't want to run. That was a big mistake for him. I didn't wait for him to attack this time. I took the initiative, with one punch I knocked him back and then followed it up by grabbing his head and smashing it into the wall. It could have killed him but I let up on the blow and basically only cracked his head open. A metasite would recover from that. Unfortunately, I got so caught up in beating the crap out of him that I failed to notice what a huge racket busting a hole in the wall would make.  
  
People were streaming out of their rooms and tearing down the hallways. I just gathered up my clothes and stood there. It doesn't take a genius to figure out I did that to the three guys. When Ward got there he looked at me and then at the three boys.  
  
"Geez Squall. It's going to cost us some money to get this wall fixed and these three are probably going to have to sit out of classes for a few days." he said "You acted on self defense I trust?" it was Kiros. He had just showed up.  
  
"Yes sir" I said. I hoped they wouldn't stick me in solitary for beating them up.  
  
"Sorry, Squall. As much as I'd like to help you, I can't. You're going into solitary confinement. If you didn't break the wall, you'd probably be okay. But it's definitely not cool to go around busting up walls and kids. Even if it WAS for self defense. You could have just thrown them off you and then came and got some help."  
  
Well, damn. I was gonna be put into solitary after all. Kiros of course was right. I could have gone for help or run away. But I didn't. It was because of my good for nothing pride. That's why my blade was named Lionheart. Lionheart would never run from battle or do anything dishonorable.  
  
Just when I was about to be thrown into solitary confinement, I was saved. I avoided several days of sitting in a dark cell getting nothing to eat but a piece of bread and a glass of water twice a day.  
  
Ellone walked into the room.  
  
"Sorry for bothering sir." she addressed Kiros.  
  
"Not at all Ellone. What is it?"  
  
"Well, I was wondering if it is possible for Squall to just skip the confinement period?" she asked.  
  
Kiros laughed. He was a very strict man who followed orders down to the last letter of the last word on the last line of the last page. He would not bend the rules.  
  
"Please sir. I'm sure you don't want Squall to go into solitary. Nobody does and since he was acting on self defense, he shouldn't have to suffer."  
  
Bless her, I thought. But why was she helping me?  
  
"You're right Ellone. I don't want Squall to go in either. But rules are rules. He's damaged Garden property and he has to be punished for it." said Kiros.  
  
"Errr...well he's definitely sorry for his actions and he won't do it again, right Squall?" she said.  
  
I nodded. I had no clue where this was going.  
  
"Good, 'cause Garden rules also say that punishment is not required if the cadet did not initiate the action and did not mean for the Garden to be damaged." she said. To this day, I don't know if there ever was a rule like that. But Kiros bought it. "Hmmm that seems a little more productive. Ah what the hay, might as well do it."  
  
I couldn't believe my ears. I had to thank Ellone someway. I promised I'd go visit her in the infirmary at least three times a week. I guess it gets boring working in there and she says she took a liking to me since I could carry out an intelligent conversation with her without being old enough to hit on her at the same time.  
  
I thanked Kiros too and set to work on the wall the very next day. I gathered the equipment and repaired it in two days which was an extremely short time for the amount of work it took. By repairing the damn thing I sort of removed the black mark on my paper for injuring and damaging Garden students and property.  
  
From that day on, the Three Stooges never bothered me ever again.  
  
AN: Yay, another chapter done. This one was sort of a mix between dark and light. I wanted a little bit of darkness in it in how violently Squall dealt with the bullies but also it is the start of the relationship between Squall and Ellone. Notice how Squall is picked on by these three guys and deals with it by hurting them badly. But he gets picked on by Jason and his group of friends and he reacts very differently. You can go read that part of "Metasite" again to get a good idea ~_^ Shout out time!  
  
Lugia-mew: Hope you're enjoying the story. I tried to update sooner but this week has been crazily busy =P Try to get another update in here earlier this time.  
  
Etherealist: Sorry I haven't been able to read your story yet. As stated above, I've been mucho busy hahaha But I'm sure you're an excellent writer since you leave intelligent comments ~_^ Hope this chapter explained a little why the courses were intense?  
  
Ari-Morrigan: Thanks for the compliment on that last chapter. I just wanted to present it in a different way that's all since so far it's only been through Squall's (and in the first story's case, Rinoa's) perspective. Hope you like this chapter too!  
  
Selphie Tilmitt-Kinneas: Yeah that chapter didn't sit too well with me after writing it hahaha I guess it's okay. This chapter I was very happy about though! Hinted at a few things and started lots of new storyline opportunity ^_^ Hope you like it!  
  
Angie: Like I said, try to update sooner this week! Good to hear you thought the chapter was a good one! Hopefully this one gets just as good a review? Hahaha!  
  
Angefantasy: Yeah, thinking too much hurts @_@ hahaha but it's fun! The AN usually leads u a bit into the more "thought provoking" parts of the story so if you read that, you don't really have to think too much! Thanks for the compliments though!  
  
Alright, that's everyone! Please review this chapter too! Long, but I think it's one of the better ones I've written! Thanks! 


	5. Chapter 5: The Rival

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8 or any of the characters from FF8.  
  
AN: Thank you all for your reviews. They are all greatly appreciated! As always, shout outs at the end. I'm not going to waste any time blabbling about nothing so I'm just going to get right to the story! Please R&R!  
  
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Chapter 5: The Rival  
  
I had just finished my lesson with Kiros. He said I was improving faster than any metasite he'd ever seen. But he still beat the living crap out of me. The only advantage I had over him was my size. Since I was so small back then, I could try to sneak inside his defense and land some blows. Or so I thought. He was way too quick for me. He had all these tricks that would counter my every move.  
  
Covered in sweat and tired as hell, I went to visit Ellone. This was my routine. I started doing this three times a week as Ellone told me to do. But as time wore on, I visited her more and more frequently not because she told me to, but because I wanted to. Ellone had a way of making people soften up. It was a gift of her, she would talk to me about almost anything and we'd have fun. It helped ease the pain of my parents' death.  
  
Ellone was the first person in Garden whom I think I really loved and cared for. She treated me like an older sister which is why she earned the nickname "Sis". She bought me Christmas presents, took me out to the movies, and helped me with my schoolwork (hey, metasites have to go to school too you know?).  
  
A year passed and one day when I went to Ellone's office something peculiar happened. My metasite sensed somebody in there as well before I got to the door. Judging by the sound of the footsteps, it was a kid like me. I was thinking maybe Ellone had a patient. Some kid probably got injured, it wasn't rare and most of the time I'd just leave if Ellone had work to do. I was just about to leave when the door opened.  
  
A kid about a head taller than me with short blond hair, curious eyes, and good-looking features stood at the door. I looked up at him and he cocked his head and scowled.  
  
"Wow, Seifer! You were right! How'd you know Squall was coming?" Ellone interrupted the moment from behind the kid.  
  
"I heard him coming that's why I stopped talking." he said.  
  
"Oh I see. Squall, this is Seifer Almasy, the headmaster's nephew." said Ellone.  
  
Mature as we were, we were still kids. We stared at each other and sort of said a half-hearted "Hi".  
  
"Should I come back later? Maybe this isn't too good a time for you" I asked Ellone.  
  
"Oh not at all Squall, come in. You might as well meet Seifer anyway since he's going to be starting his classes tomorrow." she said.  
  
Seifer closed the door and returned to his seat leaving me standing alone feeling quite awkward.  
  
"I see." I said. I wasn't much of a talker.  
  
"Seifer has been training privately with the headmaster. I just had to run the tests to get his metasite data before he could properly begin his classes."  
  
"Yeah I'm a metasite. How long have you been here Squall?" he asked.  
  
"Two years" I said.  
  
"Oh okay, so you've been training the whole time?"  
  
"Actually, Squall is one of our top students here." Ellone said proudly.  
  
"Really? Well, maybe I'll meet up with you sometime in our lessons then. I've been training since I was three with my uncle. He didn't want me to attend the classes until I was older." Seifer said.  
  
"How old are you?" I asked. Pleased that I could actually ask something in this conversation.  
  
"I'm eight now. You?"  
  
"Seven" I said.  
  
"Cool, I have to go back to my uncle's room since he's going to give me my dorm. Hopefully I'll see you around Squall." he said.  
  
"Yeah, see you later."  
  
"Bye Seifer" said Ellone.  
  
Seifer walked out the door and left me with Ellone. She was cleaning out some test tubes and syringes and I decided to help.  
  
"He's a nice kid. You guys should get together some time." Ellone said.  
  
I nodded. He did seem like a nice guy but I wasn't exactly the type of person who would make friends very easily. We continued to talk about nothing in particular and I left after an hour. Normally I would love the conversations I had with Ellone. As I said, she had a way of making people open up. However, today was different. My mind wasn't even in the conversation. It was with Seifer. Something about that guy wasn't quite right. I had fought a lot of older metasites and I knew how older kids acted. They were snobbish and rude. But Seifer was different. He had a calmness about him that I was sure meant something else...  
  
The next day, I found out what I sensed in Seifer.  
  
During my private lesson with Kiros, Ward walked into the training center. Following him was a tall blond kid in standard Galbadian uniform, Seifer.  
  
Once again I felt that strange sense of confidence radiating from Seifer. It was unlike any of the kids I had ever fought before.  
  
"Hey Kiros, I brought a little friend here. He's the headmaster's nephew." said Ward  
  
"Well, Squall and I are training right now. I'll talk to you guys when I'm done." said Kiros.  
  
"Oh, I was hoping you'd let Squall spar with Seifer and see what his skill level is."  
  
Kiros looked Seifer up and down as if sizing him up. Seifer still stood motionless and just the faintest hint of a smirk on his lips.  
  
"Alright then. Squall, spar with Seifer." he said.  
  
I walked up to Seifer and he called his metasite armor. Green tendrils surrounded him and the bony exoskeleton developed instantaneously. Seifer's metasite was green and was quite bulky yet sleek at the same time. His armor was more angular than mine, with lots of sharp edges all over the place. It made a nice contrast with my own metasite.  
  
He drew his blade from his back. I could see why since the blade was a heavy broadsword styled metablade. It was glowing green and I knew it was razor sharp on both edges. I already had Lionheart drawn and the blue blade shimmered in my grip.  
  
I raised my sword and saluted him in typical dueling fashion. It was one of the things Kiros stressed. I was to salute every opponent I met before a metablade duel. Seifer raised his own sword and saluted in his own style. Then he used one hand to hold the sword out in front of him pointed at a slight downwards angle. It was then that I saw he had the same pistol grip that my metablade possessed only his was thicker.  
  
I lowered my blade down to my side and stood waiting for his attack. Seifer pushed off the ground and came at me with blinding speed. I had time just to duck under the blow that had sent at me.  
  
I countered it with a slash of my own but was deflected by that heavy blade of his. I wasn't fast enough to get through his blade. He swung that sword at me and I brought my own sword up to meet it but was knocked backwards and into a tree. Seifer then attacked again and I once again brought my blade up to parry the strike but ended up just being slammed into the tree. I winced at the pain and rolled off to one side using my boosters to assist me in gaining my balance again. No sooner had I gotten to my feet had I been knocked down again. It was hopeless, I couldn't deflect his blows and my own feeble attempts to attack were not quick enough to penetrate Seifer's defenses. It didn't take long for Seifer to get his blade under my own and press is against my throat.  
  
That was the first time I had ever tasted defeat in a fight. And I didn't like it. I didn't like it at all. But Seifer extended an arm and lifted me up. We both took off the metasite armor and he smiled down at me.  
  
"Wow, that was the toughest fight I've had yet. No wonder Ellone said you're good." he said.  
  
I looked up at him and could feel growing respect for this kid. I had never been beaten before by kids who were older than him and he was complimenting me. Ward thanked me for sparring with Seifer and they left Kiros and I.  
  
"He's a strong one." said Kiros.  
  
That wasn't what I was expecting at all. I thought Kiros would start yelling at me or something. But he didn't.  
  
"I couldn't deflect his blows." I told Kiros.  
  
"I know. We'll have to work on it. You should spar with him more often. He'll help bring your own level up." Kiros had a strange tone to his voice. Something I had never heard before. "The headmaster has been training him for a while now. But I have no doubt that you will one day defeat him."  
  
I nodded. Seifer was my primary goal. I had to defeat Seifer.  
  
Although it sounds like I hated Seifer. The truth was I really liked him. We quickly became good friends since nobody our age could match our skill. I looked up to him as well. He was like an older brother to me. Eventually, Ward opened up a separate class for us and we attended group classes together.  
  
My goal to defeat Seifer was still there. But it lacked the sort of hatred that fueled my ongoing promise to avenge the death of my parents. Seifer was beating me but I was quickly catching up to his skill. I would practice my speed and striking strength by myself. Kiros taught me a new technique which is one of the advantages of a single-edged sword. I could put my armored hand on the back of the blade and use it to absorb vibration and give extra strength to my parry. This technique paid dividends against Seifer because the more I worked on it, the more hits I could take from Seifer.  
  
I went everywhere with Seifer. It seems like when you're younger, one year makes a real big difference. He seemed so much more mature than I was. But now thinking back, that was wrong. I had dealt with kids way older than Seifer and they didn't possess that same maturity. Little did I know, that "maturity" would slowly fizzle up and die.  
  
Day after day, week after week. Seifer and I began to drift apart. He met up with two other kids, Fujin and Raijin. They formed their "posse" and sort of excluded me. Seifer and I still sparred with each other but he spent most of his time with his posse. I spent my time with Ellone.  
  
On the outside, I was as cool and calm as I had ever been. But Ellone could see right through me. Somehow, I had connected with Seifer. It felt like I was no longer an outcast since he was only a year older than me but just as powerful. Even a metasite like me doesn't want to be the outcast. Nobody does.  
  
"Squall, it's just a stage Seifer is going through. I know you wish you guys hung out more and stuff but it's time he made his own friends." Ellone said.  
  
"Oh I don't really care." I said.  
  
"Don't lie to me Squall. I know you care."  
  
"Alright, alright. Busted."  
  
"Now listen to me. You should try to meet some friends of your own too. There are lots of kids in the Garden, I'm sure some of them are right for you. Seifer's not the only one." she said  
  
I nodded. It made sense. But it's tough when one is young and already has so much pressure. I wanted friends who looked past who I was and didn't want to be friends with me just because I was the most aspiring metasite ever to come to Garden.  
  
"Okay sis, I'll find some friends." I said.  
  
There were hundreds of metasites at Garden. I haven't even seen half of them. I had a lot to think about. Ellone wanted me to go find new friends, Seifer and I were growing apart, and then there was the fact that I would be s tarting my first mission soon.  
  
This was just the start of my life. Seifer and I not only grew apart, eventually it became a lot more than just a friendly rivalry. But that is down the road. Right now all I had to do was find some friends.  
  
AN: Okay, this chapter was quite happy. I introduced Seifer and his relationship with Squall. I built Ellone up a little bit more, and how she affects Squall as well. Over the course of this story, hopefully you guys will be able to see the changes in Squall and the characters around him and how these changes tie into his attitude in the original "Metasite" story. Alright, enough ranting =P shout out time!  
  
remote mine: don't forget to review THIS chapter! Hahaha well, Ellone is quite a pretty girl in the game so I thought that was just a bit of comic relief implying she gets hit on by lots of guys =P  
  
XxMazLeonhartxX: thanks for the review! Yeah, Squall is more overcome by anger than anything right now hahaha I won't say when, but the death of his parents will return in this story *hint hint*  
  
Selphie Tilmitt-Kinneas: lol thanks a lot! Squall is a prodigal child so naturally he is talented which is what this whole story will basically revolve around hahaha Squall's talent =)  
  
trekken46: yup the prequel is well on its way! But don't worry, the other one is far from finished. This is just a little side story ~_^  
  
Ari-Morrigan: hehe Squall has quite a ways to go in his development as a soldier. Entertaining as it would be to see Squall kick the shit out of Jason and the guys, it would not work well with the story hahaha so I had him kick the shit out of the three stooges to make up for it =P  
  
Etherealist: I reviewed your story! FINALLY! It's very good. And the religious training thing...well...I don't even know WHAT to say to that! =P Hopefully this chapter will have less...thought provoking parts in it lol...  
  
Keep those reviews coming please! I really appreciate it! Thanks! 


	6. Chapter 6: First Mission and First Frien...

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8 or any of the characters from FF8.  
  
AN: Okay, here's Chapter 6. Just to let everyone know, I'm not going to continue with the original story until this one is over =) Sorry if anyone is expecting the other story to be updated. The reason I'm doing this is 'cause the other story really CAN'T be continued until this one is over. You'll see why later ~_^ This story will also be as long if not longer than the other one.  
  
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Chapter 6: First Mission and First Friends  
  
The unique 11 year training program used to produce Galbadia's best metasites was one of the best systems ever conceived. It has always proved to be head and shoulders above the Balamb Garden way of training metasites.  
  
Luckily for us, our training program was totally secret. We knew there would be spies but so far, all of the spies were dispatched quickly and easily. All Balamb knew about our system was that it spanned 11 years. It started from the age of 5 if possible so that by the time the metasite is 16, it is ready for the battlefield as one of the main strikers.  
  
Galbadia made no exceptions to this rule. It always spanned 11 years and all the metasites would go on their first mission three years after starting their training.  
  
These missions were just small mercenary jobs such as destroying small bands of resistance groups or bandits in the area. They would always have real SeeDs in the back ready to jump in if the novices got in trouble. However, it was still dangerous and many times the new metasites would get seriously wounded. It was a real battle with very real results.  
  
I had not listened to Ellone about finding friends and she was not happy about it. I usually just tried to stick with Seifer and his posse but it became quite hard since they always seemed to avoid me. Looking back, I see why. I was a year younger than them and sort of a loser, always looking up to Seifer. Seifer would sometimes politely tell me to go somewhere else, he was not mean, never mean. But he made it quite clear that him, Fujin, and Raijin preferred to be left alone.  
  
I was also a shy kid. I didn't really want to seek out people and most people figured I was different from them and left me alone. So I drifted back into isolation and my training.  
  
When I was eight, I was sent on my first mission. I was the perfect age.  
  
I remember that morning clearly. I was well prepared. That was the first time I did my preparation routine and it definitely wouldn't be my last. I got up at 4 and sharpened my secondary blade and did the whole kit and kaboodle. My mission didn't start till 6 but I wanted to be sure I was ready even though Kiros told me I'd blow through it.  
  
I met Kiros at 5 at breakfast and he lectured me one last time before my mission while I stuffed myself with bacon and eggs.  
  
"Remember not to let your blade drop. You have a tendency of doing that and if you're not careful, it'll get you killed." he said.  
  
"Yeah alright."  
  
"Don't forget to salute your opponents even if they don't do the same. I want you to get into that habit. Always fight a man straight on, don't attack him from behind."  
  
Kiros was very big on honor and I guess he sort of imposed that on me. To this day, I still salute my opponents and never attack a downed opponent or an opponent who isn't ready. They always have at least a millisecond's notice before I strike.  
  
"And the last thing. The most important thing. I want you to listen to your commander's orders and follow them exactly. If your commander orders you to not do anything I tell you right now, then forget about all the things I just said. If your commander tells you to use a different style of fighting, do it. I just want you to know the importance of following orders." Kiros said.  
  
That is another thing that rubbed off on me. I follow all directions to the letter and above everything else. I know now why Kiros wanted me to do that. Kiros was afraid. He was afraid because he knew that if I decided to rebel that I could not be stopped. Of course, at the time I had no idea that that was what he had in mind. I found that out much later.  
  
"Okay, now go kick some ass." he said as he messed up my already disheveled brown hair.  
  
I left Kiros and headed to the main gate where we were scheduled to meet. I made a quick check of the piece of paper on which I had written down the location of our meeting. Even though my metasite memory was superior, I always double checked.  
  
The gate was empty. I could wait, I was early anyway. The gatekeeper looked up slightly from his newspaper and then returned to his reading. It was dark and strangely depressing but after 10 minutes I forgot about that. Instructors and commanders showed up closely followed by other students.  
  
The leader was a man by the name of John Steiner. He was one of those guys who was a decent soldier but never good enough to get promoted. The job of organizing first missions belonged to him for the past 20 years. Well, he was damn good at it. Hell anybody would be damn good at something if they spent the last 20 years doing the same thing over and over again.  
  
We were a group of about 10 students. Actually, it was 9. It was always 9 because for these missions, they always split the metasites into 3 groups of 3 and assigned different tasks to the different groups.  
  
There were three transports waiting for us outside the gate and Steiner funneled us into our various groups. I ended up in Squad C along with a pretty, raven-haired girl and a tall guy with jet black hair.  
  
We marched into the transport and took seats on either side. It would be a long ride there so the armored cars started moving immediately. A boy who looked to be about 16 sat in a big seat at the front of our little compartment. He had on a red and black uniform like ours but it had ornate markings along the red areas. It marked superiority.  
  
"Morning cadets. I'm Commander Gerry Steele." he looked down at his notebook then looked up at us each in turn "You are Squall Leonhart, Emi Carrelo, and Zone Liger am I correct?" he gazed at each of us. And we nodded "On this mission, you will follow my orders and expected to perform them to the best of your abilities. Now we start on our briefing." he said.  
  
Commander Steele pulled up a holographic projection of a street with buildings on either side. It was fairly simple, just blocks really but you could tell it was a street and buildings.  
  
"Right, your mission is to find and kill a group of drug dealers in East Deling. They are all along Tron street in these dense buildings" he pointed to the blocks "your job is to go inside the buildings where there are gang members and take them out with any means necessary. Squad A is going to use metasite surveillance to detect the criminals and Squad B will keep them from getting out of the buildings. You have the most important job. Of course, you are the best out of the three Squadrons so it is expected that you do the most work. I want to remind you all that these gang members do have guns and long knives and are also notorious murderers of a number of innocent people. Killing them is permitted and dare I say, encouraged. They will be put on the death penalty if caught anyway. Any questions?"  
  
I had none. I would probably have to kill that day and I knew it. The thought made me uncomfortable but I was exposed to the murder of my parents and thinking back to that event made me feel cold and ruthless.  
  
The girl on our Squad, Emi Carrelo raised her hand.  
  
"How many men are there?" she asked. She had a soft voice and it shook slightly as she spoke. But I could tell that she was trying to suppress her fear because she had a fiercely determined look on her face as if nothing would stop her. Her brown eyes had a fire in them which marked courage yet her features were so gentle and her movements so graceful that it created a curious contrast. I felt a small kick in my gut and felt slightly uncomfortable.  
  
"We estimate that the entire gang is here and there are about fifty men." the commander answered.  
  
I saw the determination waver a bit but she quickly hitched it back. I was having thoughts about it too, though I was sure mine were quite different from hers. Fifty men...that meant roughly 17 men for each of us...piece of cake.  
  
The commander left us and sat up front with the driver. The girl turned to me and I quickly averted my gaze. "It's Squall right?" she asked.  
  
"...Yeah" I said.  
  
"I'm Emi, this is Zone."  
  
I sort of gave a half-hearted nod. She was quite calm and friendly at such a moment. I had no clue how she could do that, I myself was totally focused at the task up ahead. I didn't want to screw it up even if the odds looked good for us.  
  
"How old are you?" it was Zone's turn to talk.  
  
"Eight" I said. He seemed like a quiet but friendly character as well.  
  
"Oh really? So are we." he said.  
  
"I've heard of you!" said Emi all of a sudden "I was trying to think of where I heard your name before! You're the one who bashed up that wall a couple of years ago right?" she asked  
  
I nodded silently.  
  
"Oh yeah, I remember too" said Zone "you used to be what Ward talked about to all his classes." he grinned  
  
I raised one eyebrow questioningly.  
  
"Yeah Ward was telling us all about you, the kid our age who could take on guys twice your size and age." he said.  
  
"That's right. But lately he's been talking about the new kid, Seifer Almasy. He's supposedly really good and scored a perfect on his field test. I've never seen him before though." Emi said.  
  
I had an urge to tell them about Seifer but I stopped myself. I just didn't feel like it. The damn shyness again. I merely nodded silently. Seifer actually DID score a perfect on his first mission. Of course he did it a year before I did and he told me all about it.  
  
"You nervous Squall?" asked Zone.  
  
"No not really. Are you?" I returned the question.  
  
"Yeah sort of, FIFTY GUYS! That's quite a lot." he said.  
  
"I think he was just bluffing." said Emi kind of hopefully. I looked at both of them and shrugged. There was no point sticking my two cents into the conversation.  
  
"Well, good luck to all of us eh?" Zone pretended to do a toast with an invisible glass. I laughed a little along with Emi and we passed the rest of the car ride in relatively good terms. I was quite happy around the two people I had just met. I didn't think they were my caliber in terms of fighting skill but they were certainly nice people and not annoying.  
  
It seemed all too soon when the transport started slowing down and grinding to a stop. Our lightened mood quickly turned to a darker more serious tone as Commander Steele entered our compartment again.  
  
"Well, here we are. It's about a five minute walk down to Tron street but that's no problem. It's a pretty bad neighborhood so we didn't want to go all the way in. The other Squads should be on their way now. Just go there and watch them until Squad B's Captain tells you you can enter the buildings. Captain of your Squad is Squall, obey his orders while you're in there. Now just relax and go, I'll see you back here when the job is done. There are experienced metasites on hand to assist you should you get into trouble, so don't worry about it. Good luck." he said. And with that he opened the door.  
  
The commander was right. It wasn't a good neighborhood. One look at it and I could see that the place would be a perfect hideout for drug dealers and gangsters. With our keen metasite sight we could see the sign saying "Tron St." down the main road. Not many people were around at the time, just some bums and a few prostitutes and most of them were asleep. The buildings were covered in graffiti and there wasn't a window left unbroken. The signs could barely be read anymore and the whole place stunk of corruption. Emi, Zone and I walked down feeling very out of place. I guess three 8 year olds don't exactly look like they belonged at a place like that.  
  
I thought the main street was bad but once we turned the corner onto Tron, I understood why they didn't want to drop us off directly on the street. The road looked like it hadn't been cleaned in millions of years. Garbage piled up and crumpled under our shoes. I activated my metasite and saw Emi and Zone do the same thing. Once the armor was on me, everything seemed distant. The sense of nervousness and uncertainty melted away and I felt the familiar metasite confidence well up to take it's place.  
  
"That must be the section blocked off" said Zone  
  
I looked ahead and saw that some caution tape had been used to secure the area and a small knot of metasites inside the isolated square. I nodded.  
  
"Squad A and B are up there" I stated the obvious.  
  
As we drew closer I could see that the metasites just got engaged in battle. They were ducking behind various rocks and rubble avoiding a hail of machine gun fire spewing out of the windows of the buildings and in the alleys.  
  
"Squad C! Quickly, they're inside the buildings!" an orange metasite said. I figured that was Squad B's leader and motioned for my team to enter the area.  
  
Squad B had done a good job, there were dead and unconscious guys dressed in black lying around. It didn't look like any of them escaped. Emi passed by a dead gang member with his head crushed against a piece of cement and she shuddered.  
  
"T-that's disgusting!"  
  
I glanced at her and shrugged. I just pretended not to be sickened by it. In truth, I was just as disturbed by the sight. But unlike Emi, I understood what we had to do and was determined not to screw it up. I'd do whatever I had to do to complete the mission as well as I could.  
  
The entrance to the first building was a good 100 meters away from us and it was also the range of the machine guns. I could see the bullets peppering the ground and snaking towards us.  
  
"Break and regroup at the entrance. Emi, you go left and Zone can go right" I said.  
  
I wasn't afraid. Bullets could only hurt metasites, it took a lot of bullets to kill us. But nevertheless we didn't want to get hit. Back then we could only dodge them and that's exactly what we did.  
  
I broke into a run right for the entrance to the building. I could see each bullet as if it was moving in slow motion. No problem at all, machine guns were too predictable. I strafed left and right and kicked the door open with a swift dashing kick and was inside before Emi and Zone.  
  
The building was a hotel. A very small hotel. Each floor contained only two rooms, one for each side and the first floor was a sort of reception/restaurant. It looked to be abandoned long ago since everything was broken almost beyond recognition. The door to the diner at the back burst open and a muscular guy in a black shirt and jeans came charging out. He was holding a Uzi.  
  
"What the hell?!" he said. All he heard was the door opening and my guess is that he was checking out what just happened.  
  
I drew Lionheart in half the time it took him to press the trigger to his gun and quickly raised the blade to his face and then to my own in typical saluting fashion. By that time he had fired his first bullet. I contorted my body and dodged the bullets as I closed the gap between the two of us. I used Lionheart and cut his gun in half. He cowered backwards and tripped against the leg of the receptionist's desk. I hesitated for a moment, I would take a man's life. Who knew if the guy had any kids? A wife? What would his parents think?  
  
But I dispatched the thought and with difficulty plunged Lionheart into his face. Blood poured freely but it would not stick to my glowing blue particle blade. I heard footsteps at the doorway and saw Emi and Zone watching me with my metablade imbedded between the man's eyes.  
  
Emi put her hands up to her face and closed her eyes. Zone put a comforting hand on her shoulder.  
  
"This is a fight Emi. Put it out of your mind." he said.  
  
The floor was covered in blood now. I removed my blade from the man's head and walked towards the stairs. It was funny because after my first kill, I felt differently. Instead of looking at Emi with sympathy, I saw her as weak. The sight of death didn't bother me anymore. I turned my head sideways so I saw Emi and Zone still standing by the doorway in my peripheral vision.  
  
"Let's go" I said.  
  
AN: A little bit longer than usual I guess. Lots of stuff to cover in this chapter. I quite enjoyed writing it. There's a bit of foreshadowing in it and a little more is revealed about Squall's character change ^_^ Shows that he's still human when he hesitates before killing. Hope you guys picked up on some more subtle hints =P Shout outs!  
  
trekken46: Glad you liked Seifer ~_^ More will be revealed in time as to Seifer's whereabouts. I guess by now most of you reviewers will have noticed that this story has tons of holes to fill. Not to worry, everything will be clear in the end =)  
  
Ari-Morrigan: Hehe as I said above, more will be revealed as the story progresses. And of course I can't resist adding a certain depth to this story hahaha I like thought provoking stories =P I hope you like Squall's first mission! I guess this chapter was quite a bit darker though lol  
  
remote mine: Yay! You reviewed! =P Can't reveal where the rivalry between Squall and Seifer comes along cuz it'll spoil everything for you guys! Keep reading!  
  
Selphie Tilmitt-Kinneas : Hahaha! Whoops! I guess that line came out wrong =P I meant it as Ellone treating Squall like she was his older sister lol maybe if I reworded it to "she treated me like an older sister WOULD" or something hahaha thanks for pointing that out though! Hope you like this chapter, if you catch any more mistakes just let me know!  
  
Angefantasy: Can't resist myself hahaha just a little hint for you. Don't get ahead of yourself ~_^ You'll see why I say that later on hehe thanks for your comments, I appreciate them a lot. I think you'll find the ending of this story to be quite a surprise!  
  
Etherealist: No problem! I'll probably just review the chapters as they come out if I have a chance to read them =P Seifer of course has to be strong to rival Squall! I'm trying to work on character development and relationships between the various people in Squall's life. Yes, when your hand is armored, putting the hand on the back helps absorb vibration hehe did some research for that =) Hope you like this chapter! Kay, that's about it. Thanks to all the reviewers! If you're reading the story and not reviewing then please try to put in a review! Alright, next chapter should be out around next week. Merry Christmas everybody! 


	7. Chapter 7: Young Killer

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8 or any of the characters from FF8.  
  
AN: Whoa! I've had a frickin' busy week so sorry for not updating =) Hey, gimme a break! It was Christmas, then my Birthday, and now it's New Years! Well, anyways, that's the past and this is the present. Thanks for all of you who reviewed that last chapter. Here's chapter 7.  
  
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Chapter 7: Young Killer  
  
I stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds still staring at Emi and Zone sideways. Their metasite armors were both on and they looked like opposite sides of the spectrum.  
  
Emi's metasite was blue. Not like my own, her blue was lighter, almost powdery. She was slim and had two blades arching from each shoulder. Her metablade was a straight sword with a duel-edge. She held it in reverse grip meaning if she held out her arm, the blade would be pointing to the ground. Some fighters prefer to use a reverse grip because it throws off their opponents. It's much harder to use but if mastered, it is deadly in a duel.  
  
Zone on the other hand was dark red, like maroon. He sported a trio of spikes on one shoulder and armor plates on the other. His head spike was also very short. He was quite big for his age although not Raijin size. Zone used double short swords. With two weapons, a fighter can execute faster moves and keep a constant barrage of attacks on the enemy. It also takes a special type of person to be able to use duel weapons. If the person is not able to coordinate both arms, he will likely be cut to pieces by himself or his opponent.  
  
THUMP THUMP THUMP  
  
Footsteps thundered down the staircase. Well, they were trying to be quiet but it was really loud to metasite hearing. I quickly faced the stairs and had Lionheart pointed straight out.  
  
"What the hell?" it was a thug and he had his gun ready to shoot. He pointed it straight at me but it was too late. All he saw was my salute and then he no longer had the physical or mental ability to pull the trigger on his weapon.  
  
"Come on" I told Emi and Zone.  
  
"Alright, we're coming." was Zone's reply.  
  
We carefully scaled the stairs and as we got closer to the second floor we could hear voices.  
  
"What? They're sending KIDS against us?"  
  
"Yeah, you saw them outside. They're definitely not full size."  
  
"B-but, they're like toddlers! They couldn't have killed Brent." "I don't know. You heard the gunshots down there. Brent didn't report back so I don't know. I sent Ji down there to check on him but I he's not back yet."  
  
"Shit shit shit, they're just kids."  
  
We were one flight of stairs from the landing of the second floor. It would be a slim hallway with two rooms both filled with gang members. I turned to Emi and Zone.  
  
"I'll take the room on the left and you two can take the one on the right." I said.  
  
They both nodded a little grimly and then we ran up the last flight of stairs.  
  
I could feel Emi and Zone on my heels and I barged into the room on the left. Once again, I did the salute Kiros told me to do. Then I started the massacre. The men inside had a split second to react before I was on them. There were about ten men crowded in that one room. They poured out from the kitchen, the bathroom, everywhere.  
  
I scanned everyone in the room and what weapons each of my enemies carried. Most of them were guns which I didn't care much about. What I had to worry about were the daggers and long knives some of the gang members wielded. Apparently, they didn't have enough guns.  
  
I counted three guys carrying foot long knives and one guy with a modified hunting knife. I had to take out hunting knife guy first. I made a bee-line for that one guy and cut down anybody in my way. Gunshots were ringing in my ears but I was moving too fast for them to shoot me. I could see four men in the way of the knife guy. I saw it in slow motion as they raised their handguns and pulled the trigger. Ducking under the bullets that came whizzing at my head, I ran straight at them and brought Lionheart straight across butchering all four of them with one swipe. The blood ran freely and painted the wall following my blade.  
  
I knocked the four dead bodies aside and opened up my way to knife guy. I saw him open his mouth in fear and his eyes went wide. As to be expected, the guy had no technique at all and he just sort of swung blindly with his knife at me. I dispatched him with a clean cut across his neck.  
  
I sensed people behind me and turned around while swinging my blade at head height. I managed to decapitate two of the three guys with the long knives.  
  
CLICK  
  
The familiar sound of a bullet about to fire.  
  
BLAM!  
  
I arched my back just in time as the bullet went whizzing by harmlessly lodging itself into the wall. I landed like a cat on the ground and quickly dashed aside as more bullets pummeled the floor. The gangsters had poor aim and clearly was not trained to use the gun since the reload was ruining his shots. I wall-walked my way towards him while his bullets flew everywhere. "What the f-" he said as I crawled along the blood spattered wall towards him. I then used Lionheart as a thrusting weapon and punctured his chest. Once the blade went in and out the other side, I twisted it and pulled the blade out horizontally in a full circle cutting the last knife guy behind me.  
  
The room now looked like somebody took red paint and splashed it all over the place. Blood and dead bodies lay everywhere. I didn't envy the guys who would have to come in and look through the place for the drugs.  
  
Turning back, I entered the room Emi and Zone were taking care of. I was surprised to see that they had apprehended some of them. Most of the gangsters in their room were just knocked out. There was far less carnage than the room in which I had just left. Emi and Zone could be seen at the other end of the room knocking the shit out of one of the guys who was still conscious.  
  
"Where are the rest of you idiots?!" Zone asked the guy.  
  
"I-I don't k-know! They're s-spread out all o-over!" he said  
  
THUMP  
  
Emi punched the guy in the gut hard enough to make him keel over but not hard enough to make him cough blood and die.  
  
"A-alright! They're two floors up in the next building!" he said.  
  
"Okay, one more question. How many are over there?" it was Emi's turn to ask.  
  
"Around t-thirty!" he answered.  
  
"Alrighty then!" Zone said. He hit the guy on the back of the neck and the guy passed out.  
  
Both of them turned to me.  
  
"You heard him. Next building, two floors up. Let's go!" Emi said. She was a great deal happier than before.  
  
I just nodded. I had a stitch in my gut because of what I had seen. Emi and Zone only killed about two people each and it was probably because of blood loss. I had killed everybody in the room by ripping them apart.  
  
I cast the thought out of my head and followed Emi and Zone out of the building and towards the second building where the rest of our enemies were waiting. Emi turned towards me as we were walking.  
  
"I saw what you did to those other guys." she said quietly.  
  
I don't know why, but she suddenly made me feel very embarrassed. Like I had done something I wasn't supposed to do and she caught me. I guess she saw the expression of shock on my face.  
  
"It's alright. I understand that it's war. But I can't bring myself to kill people so brutally. We're all just kids. I admire you, really I do, you can forget about everything and do things that people way older than you can't even do." she said.  
  
That came as a surprise. I just stood there thinking about that for awhile before I could answer.  
  
"I guess...I've just seen death before so half of the hesitation's gone already." I said.  
  
She nodded.  
  
"When did you see death?" she asked.  
  
This time, I hesitated. I wasn't sure if I should tell her. I didn't trust anyone but then something inside me told me I should let her know.  
  
"M-my parents were killed when I was really young." I said. I almost choked on the words, like I didn't want to say them but they came out anyways.  
  
Emi just kept walking and didn't say much for a while. Her head was down and I couldn't see any expression through those metasite eyes. Finally she spoke.  
  
"I'm sorry." she said it in barely a whisper but clear enough so that I could hear it.  
  
"Don't be. It's in the past so I like to put it behind me. Besides, I don't remember it too well now." I lied. I did remember. But somehow I couldn't bare to see her so sad like that so I lied.  
  
"Oh...but still, that's really sad." she said.  
  
I didn't say anything and we didn't speak for the rest of the trip. The two buildings were about a block apart and we sort of took our time since Squad A and B had to secure the second building first.  
  
The second building was built the same way as the first one but the people inside acted very different. Nobody shot at us as we approached so we approached slowly but cautiously and I opened the front door.  
  
It was quiet inside but there were clearly people since I could hear dull thudding from the upper levels. They seemed to be getting fainter though.  
  
"Seems like they're moving up doesn't it?" I asked Zone.  
  
"Yeah, my guess is that there were about two guys who just went up to floor number three." he said.  
  
"Well, floor three it is then" said Emi.  
  
We went up the stairs quickly this time since we were sure there was nobody on the second floor. But as we neared the third floor we could definitely hear people up there. They were trying to be quiet since they weren't talking and the sounds were more muffled meaning they were only shifting around.  
  
"Looks like they're waiting for us." I said.  
  
"They're all surrounding the corridor. Guess the two rooms weren't big enough to hold thirty people." said Zone.  
  
"Well, let's go then." I gave the order and then I charged ahead of them.  
  
For the moment I totally forgot about everything Emi and I just talked about and I was a monster. I ran up the stairs and took all of them by surprise. They planned an ambush, but instead I ambushed THEM.  
  
This time most of the guys had knives. It didn't matter. They were no match for me.  
  
I dashed straight through the corridor and slashed eight men in about two seconds. It wasn't hard because they were all crowded around the tight corridor. All I had to do was bring my blade across back and forth and the blood flowed freely. I saw one guy try to bury his dagger into my back and I used Lionheart as a defensive weapon by sticking it straight out. The guy's momentum carried him right through my blade and I basically shish ka bobbed him.  
  
My enemies were slaughtered. I don't know how to explain it. It's like I was controlled but out of control. I kept my calm, but the rate at which the drug dealers were falling was insane. It was a bloodbath.  
  
Emi and Zone didn't even have to do anything. I was four and a half feet, fifty five pounds of pure carnage. Anybody who got in my way would die.  
  
As quickly as the killer instinct came, it disappeared. I turned back to Emi and Zone who were standing just above the stairs looking very dumbfounded.  
  
"Sorry...I guess we can go then." I said.  
  
They looked at me with wide eyes. I felt extremely uncomfortable so I just walked down the stairs. The stench of blood reeked from the corridor and I tried not to think about it. I just did what I was supposed to do.  
  
We were walking back to where the transports had agreed to pick us up. It was closer than where we were dropped off but not directly to the second building. The reason being that the road close to the second building was so beaten up that it was almost unpassable.  
  
"I was thinking, Squall. Maybe...if you'd like to of course...meet up with Zone and I at the park sometime?" Emi asked. I didn't expect the question at all after how ruthlessly I had acted.  
  
"Sure" I said. I was just confused at the time and thought that accepting her offer would be the right thing to do.  
  
"Cool, see you the next Open day at three? There's a few of us there and we usually go to the city for some ice cream." Zone didn't seem to mind either.  
  
"Okay, three sounds good." I said. Open days were certain scheduled days where the cadets like us could go out and have some fun. We were restricted to go no further than the city which wasn't really a problem since there was tons of stuff to do in the city. I went out only once up to that point. The first Open day they had I went and it was the most boring day of my life so I never went on any of them ever again. Instead, I'd just stay at the Garden and train...yep I know, I was one hell of a loser...  
  
After that we didn't talk much. But then again, the transports were almost right in front of our faces by that time so it was time to leave anyways.  
  
I had a good time with Emi and Zone. I thought for a moment that Emi had been disgusted by my behavior but that didn't seem to be the case. For the first time in my life, I cared about what others thought about me. I didn't want Emi and Zone to shun me because of the slaughter I had created.  
  
But boy would Ellone be happy...seems like I finally found some friends.  
  
AN: 'kay, sorry once again for not updating...I promise the next chapter will be up quicker! Wanted this chappie to have a mixed bag sort of feel to it in terms of character emotion. Trust me, things will become a lot clearer later on! =P Please please please leave a review! SHOUT OUT TIME!  
  
remote mine: Glad you enjoyed that chapter =) My guess is that you'd like this one too, it's along the same lines hahaha. Keep reading and keep reviewing! This story's still got a lot more to go!  
  
Selphie Tilmitt-Kinneas : You'll probably find some errors in this chapter! I spread this chapter out so much, I'd start writing, stop, start, stop, etc. So I'm pretty sure this one is more messed up that the last! John Steiner has nothing to do with the Steiner in FF9...I have yet to play FF9 hahaha FF9, FFX-2 and FFXI are the only FF's I haven't played =P  
  
Lugia-mew: Thanks for the compliment, but sorry for the slow update heh...Hope you like this chapter too!  
  
Ari-Morrigan: Hopefully, you'll catch this chapter! Yeah, Rinoa's sister is going to play a huge role in this story. The whole story is going to get MUCH darker so this is just a small taste of what is to come. It is anything BUT light and cheery! But don't worry, things won't stay that way in the original metasite =P Thanks for the review!  
  
Etherealist: It's alright, as long as you leave a review! Thanks for the compliment and hope you can get online more often!  
  
angel-brokensorrow: Thanks a lot! That's an interesting tip, I tried it in this chapter so look out for it! As always, I encourage constructive criticism =)  
  
That's all for now, and just wanted to wish everybody a late Happy New Year! Don't forget to review! 


	8. Chapter 8: The Best of Friends

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8 or any of the characters from FF8.  
  
AN: Thought I should get back into the swing of things and update sooner. Thanks to all of you who reviewed. Hoping more of you guys will review this chapter! Enjoy.  
  
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Chapter 8: The Best of Friends  
  
After the mission we all got our grades immediately. They didn't waste any time in telling you whether or not you failed. Commander Steele was waiting for us back at the transport and once we got in, he whipped out a pile of notes and stuff and he began looking over them before announcing our marks.  
  
Marks were given according to how well each cadet handled the situation. Following orders was a priority but knowing how to adapt in different events was a bonus. For our mission, it was all about how we dealt with the criminals.  
  
"Alright" Commander Steele began "good mission. I'm pleased to say that you all passed. No doubt your instructors will be pleased with you." he smiled a little. "Here are your individual marks. You may share them if you wish, but because some people do not like that, we have them on different sheets of paper. Also, your sheet will be different from your fellow members' sheets because of the different roles you all played. Don't worry, everybody got fairly good marks." he said. He began handing out the sheets, they all had a pure black backing and the text was insanely small so that spying metasite eyes would not be able to see them unless they were shown.  
  
He handed sheets to Emi, then Zone, and finally me. I focused my eyes to maximum on the tiny print and saw it like it was size 12 font. It read:  
  
First Mission Evaluation  
  
Name: Leonhart, Squall Age: 8 Age when admitted: 5  
  
Instructor: Kiros Seagill/Ward Zabac  
  
Squad: C (Strike Team)  
  
Position: Squad Leader  
  
Grading:  
  
Leadership-20/20  
Good coordination of attacking, splitting up the group was an effective attack. Going before your group during the second attack was a  
hasty but well executed maneuver.  
  
Obedience-20/20  
Astounding, followed orders exactly and didn't do anything out of  
line. Perfect.  
  
Skills-20/20  
Smooth and flawless movement. Bullet dodging is exceptional and senses are almost entirely developed. Impressive for such a young person.  
  
Bladework- 20/20 +5 Bonus  
Never seen a cadet pull off such deadly and quick strokes. Style is perfect and to the book. Pistol-gripped blade is wonderfully effective and  
used to maximum extent. Bonus for not using ranged attacks.  
  
Tactics- 20/20 +5 Bonus  
Excellent scanning of opponents. Very smart in taking out the knife  
users first. Bonus for killing all opponents and not getting injured at  
all.  
  
Total- 100 +10 Bonus = 110  
  
Congratulations you have set a new record, previous record was a perfect 100. Your name will be down in the awards room on the board saying "First  
Mission High Scores".  
  
(Below that in even smaller writing) If you don't want your score posted,  
then please talk to your instructor as soon as possible.  
  
I wasn't sure I wanted my score posted for everyone to see. I was never one to go showing off contrary to my "best bud" Seifer. He had his name on the top of that list right now. To tell the truth, I didn't want to post it because I was afraid Seifer would be pissed or something if I beat his score.  
  
Emi and Zone poked their heads over and asked what I got.  
  
"Err..." I didn't want to tell them because I didn't want everyone to go make a big deal out of it.  
  
"Let's see!" Emi said. She was quite happy it seemed with her score.  
  
I sort of just gave it to them. The two of them looked at my score then their eyes went wide.  
  
"Whoa!!! That's insane!" Zone said.  
  
"Good Job!" Emi had to add her two cents.  
  
I felt some blood rush up to my cheeks at the compliments.  
  
"I-it's nothing. I just got lucky." I said.  
  
In fact I DID consider myself lucky. I never expected to pass with a perfect score let alone a bonus. I rushed ahead of the group and just slaughtered everyone. But Galbadia works that way. The more you kill, the better marks you get. It's a brutal system, very unlike Balamb.  
  
Emi and Zone kept insisting that it wasn't lucky all the way back to the Garden. We had a good laugh in the transport car. When we left, Emi and Zone accompanied me to see when the next Open day was. Looking down the schedule, it seemed like the next one was two days later. I agreed to meet with them at the park at three. Then we went out separate ways.  
  
I had a few errands to run before heading back to my dorm and getting some sleep.  
  
First, I had to go see Kiros. I didn't want my name on that wall. It was fine if only Emi and Zone knew, but I wasn't too keen on having the whole damn Garden know and then get in the way of my eventual plan of avenging the death of my parents. I had to stay totally focused on this plan and didn't want the extra attention as it would mean more people would be watching me.  
  
I found Kiros in the cafeteria. He looked over at me when I entered and smiled.  
  
"Nice job. Knew you'd do well. I got the results sent to me just now." he said.  
  
"Right. I don't want my name on that wall though." I cut straight to the point. Didn't want anymore pointless conversation.  
  
Kiros just smiled and shook his head a little.  
  
"I knew you'd say that. But I don't want that to happen." he said.  
  
I was puzzled. I was sure Kiros would have let me do what I wanted since this wasn't anything big. It was just a name on the wall!  
  
"Why?" I demanded.  
  
"I need you to change. Forget about your past. If you keep dwelling in the past like that, you're going to destroy yourself from the inside out. I understand you got along quite well with your two teammates. That's good. I need you to open up and start enjoying your life, the attention of your top marks will help. Consider this the next part of your training." he said. Then he laughed and gave me a good hearted pat on the shoulder. I was just as puzzled as before but I didn't dare question my instructor twice. The first time was a big enough mistake, you're just not supposed to question instructors, PERIOD.  
  
I left the cafeteria thinking about Kiros' words. What did he mean "I would destroy myself from the inside out"? That made no sense to me. But I was only eight at the time.  
  
The next place I had to go was Ellone's room. I wanted to tell her about my first mission and how I met Emi and Zone.  
  
The light in her room was on so I knew she was there and wasn't asleep. I entered her room and saw her on her bed studying her notes for being a full- fledged doctor instead of a nurse.  
  
"Hey" I greeted.  
  
She looked up and smiled just like Kiros did.  
  
"So you passed huh?" she teased. She knew I did a lot more than just "pass"  
  
"Yeah I guess I did. 110% so I got the record and Kiros wants me to put it on that stupid wall." I said with a slight smile. Like I said before, Ellone has a way of making people feel better instantly.  
  
"Good job! You beat Seifer then!" she said. She seemed quite happy with the fact that I beat Seifer.  
  
"Yep, and I also made new friends." I grinned. Now when I look back, that line always seems really corny. But what the heck, I was eight. That seems to be my excuse for everything...  
  
"Oh really? Who?" Ellone acted as if she couldn't believe her ears.  
  
"Emi Carrelo and Zone Liger. They were my teammates for the mission." I said.  
  
"Good for you Squall. About time!" she said, the teasing smile back on her face.  
  
"Yeah yeah I know. Thought I'd just pop by and let you know. I'm going out with them on the next Open day . But now I gotta go get some sleep. Been a pretty tiring day. Night" I said and then I left her room hearing her faint goodbyes as I walked away.  
  
I got back to my dormitory and changed into my white chocobo pajamas then flopped onto my bed and fell asleep.  
  
The next day was quite uneventful. The only thing that happened was that I bumped into Emi and her mom in the hallway. Emi introduced me and I could see the resemblance of mother and daughter.  
  
Julia Carrelo was like an older version of her daughter. Dark hair, dark eyes and a pretty face. She was a nice lady and worked for Galbadia as a computer programmer. Over time, Julia would almost act like a mother to me. She owned an apartment in the city and shared it with Emi. After finding out I lived in the dorms, she often had me over at her place for dinner then gave me a ride back to the Garden. I took a great liking to her, but that is later. For now, I only just met her.  
  
"What do your parents do Squall? Maybe I know them." she asked me.  
  
Emi looked sort of scared since it was clear she had not told her mother about my parents.  
  
"They're dead." I said.  
  
Emi dropped her head as if ashamed. And I felt sort of bad making her feel so guilty. But the truth was I didn't mind telling her mom about my parents.  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry! So you live here?" she asked again.  
  
I nodded and the conversation didn't really go anywhere after that. We parted and Emi confirmed the meeting in the park at three.  
  
Unlike Emi, Zone lived in the Garden as well. His parents were poor so they sent him to live full time in the Garden under Galbadia's sponsorship just like myself. But the difference between Zone and I was two things which are connected.  
  
Zone still HAD parents and I was loaded. The money collected from my parents was given to me and kept in my own bank account. And it was quite a bit. My dad was a very famous reporter and the sums of cash he collected were huge plus the insurance money from their deaths just added more onto the staggering sum I already possessed.  
  
After my encounter with Emi and her mom, I went for my training. Training is a boring procedure so I'm not going to go into details. Let's just say I was pretty bummed out after all of the fighting.  
  
I took a little detour while heading back to my room and went to the awards room. Sure enough, my name was at the top of the list of First Mission ranks. Below me was Seifer, then Emi and then Zone. Emi scored a 96 and Zone a 94.  
  
Well, I guess I wasn't the only one who was a pretty good student.  
  
I met up with Emi and Zone at the park and was immediately introduced to Isaiah and Phil. Both of them were metasites as well. We ignored the playground where most of the kids played. The five of us started walking towards the city talking and joking about just about anything.  
  
Once we reached the city, all of them called their metasite armors. Not wanting to be left out, I did the same and followed them. When you're a metasite, you don't need a playground to play on. The whole city becomes the playground.  
  
We launched ourselves across the rooftops playing a tag, metasite style. It was fun but a lot of times I purposely slowed down and allowed myself to get caught. Emi was the only one who was really fast enough to pose a threat.  
  
After our little game, I followed them to the ice-cream parlor and ordered one scoop of peach ice-cream. I enjoyed sitting on the roofs eating ice-cream with Emi, Zone, Isaiah and Phil. Much better than going to Open days by myself.  
  
That trip out to the city was the beginning of a wonderful friendship that would blossom between Emi, Zone, and I.  
  
The other kids were coming and going, but the three of us always stuck together. Instead of training alone, I would train with Emi and Zone. And my training time was actually cut down since now that I had some friends I wasn't such a loser and training when people were having fun. Funny thing is that Kiros didn't seem to mind. My skills were still way above par and I even seemed to be performing better when I was happier. We became inseparable, almost like Seifer's posse.  
  
Speaking of Seifer, he also had something to say. The day after my trip to the city, Seifer found me in the cafeteria and sat beside me, alone. Surprisingly without Fujin and Raijin. I scanned the whole cafeteria but could see not signs of them.  
  
"Hey, how's it going?" I asked. It seemed like an eternity since I last spoke to him alone like that.  
  
"Good. Saw your name on that board. Congrats." he said. But those words were not backed up by his voice or his eyes. He had a gleam in his eye that I sensed was something wrong.  
  
"Thanks. I just got lucky I suppose." I used the same excuse.  
  
Seifer just shrugged. The look he had when he congratulated me was gone and replaced with his usual kind smile. We talked for awhile just like we used to and had some good laughs but I could feel that I was growing further apart from Seifer, like I was talking to him through a pane of glass or something.  
  
Little did I know that in a year's time we wouldn't be the best of friends anymore, but instead would be participating in the greatest rivalry of any Garden's history.  
  
AN: I actually quite enjoyed this chapter. Not very dark at all, in contrast to the last one =P This chapter was almost entirely about developing characters, the relationships between all the characters and Squall were explained in this chapter. Trust me, all the characters mentioned in this chapter will play a huge role in the upcoming chapters. In my opinion, the real story actually starts after this chapter so keep reading and keep reviewing! I always give shout outs so just review if you want one! 5 reviews this time, a little under my average of 6 a chapter but thanks to the 5 of you who reviewed!  
  
Selphie Tilmitt-Kinneas : Thanks =) Keep your eyes out for errors, I'm too lazy to proofread lol Bloodbaths are very hard to write. Lots of detail and you have to make it make sense and a good amount of people and stuff. Hope you like this chapter, no bloodbath though hahaha!  
  
Etherealist: Now that you mention it, Squall might be a bit thin lol But my sister's 10 and she weighs around 60 pounds. Plus, girls are bigger than boys when they're kids and the metasite adds a bit of height onto Squall. Might be around right *shrug* oh well hahaha! Or maybe Galbadia DID starve him..._ anyways...hope you like this chapter and keep reviewing!  
  
angel-brokensorrow: You're right, the fight was brutal. More like a massacre by Squall. It was meant to be that way, I wanted the reader to have the "omg, a 8 year old is doing that!" sort of feel hahaha! I agree with you about the description of carnage. Blood is ok in my books since if it's done well, blood can be used almost artistically. But gore is just nasty so I try to stay away from gore =P This chapter has no blood and no gore so it's a big difference!  
  
Ari-Morrigan: You guessed it, the friendship continues in this chapter! Much lighter in tone as well. I release a little bit more information about Squall's past in each chapter and then by the end there will be a huge piece of the puzzle that is solved. By the end of this story I hope people will go back and re-read it and catch all the little clues I put here and there and in the first metasite story ~_^ Stay tuned!  
  
Lugia-mew: Hmmmm I like action movies, but not movies with a lot of killing unless it's artistically done. For example, I really liked "Kill Bill". I try to make the fight scenes brutal but at the same time have a sense of beauty to them as well, just like the metasite's design. The design of the metasite is supposed to be beautiful but deadly at the same time so most of my scenes play out that way. As mentioned above, blood can sometimes be used to good effect but not gore in my opinion. Thanks for the review and keep reading! =)  
  
That's it for now. Hopefully I can get it back to my average of 6 reviews per chapter! Thanks guys! 


	9. Chapter 9: Facing Down the Enemy

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8 or any of the characters from FF8.  
  
AN: Oh dear...my reviewers are dying! I'm losing you guys! Lol please review. Even if the chapter's bad, just let me know, I don't mind constructive criticism (I DO mind flames). Well, the last chapter had practically no fighting in it. So if that's not what you like, then this chapter might be more your taste.  
  
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Chapter 9: Facing Down the Enemy  
  
The first time I defeated Seifer was both a blessing and a curse for me. I suppose it was more of a blessing but sometimes I think to myself if things would've ended up differently if I never beat him. But these thoughts are always swept away because I know that I was destined to win sooner or later.  
  
Now, I'd love to tell you some great story about the day I finally accomplished my first goal...but I can't.  
  
Why? Because it wouldn't be true. I don't want to lie.  
  
It was a clear day, no rain, very little sun. You know, the average sort of day. I did my usual routine, the morning training with Ward and then the private with Kiros. Nothing special at all. I met up with Emi and Zone and we ate lunch together, talked, laughed, had a good time. Then I returned to the training center for my sparring match with Seifer.  
  
I had gotten better since the first time I fought him. I knew his moves and likewise, he knew mine. Every day I would get closer and closer to beating him. Metasite fights don't last long because of the speed. One wrong move and it's game over.  
  
This was a year after I passed the field test with the highest score ever. I knew that day that Seifer wasn't happy because I bested his score but he still treated me like before and I began to think that everything was cool between us again. Boy was I wrong.  
  
"Hey Squall" he greeted when I arrived at the training center.  
  
"Hey" I replied.  
  
"Ward's going to be supervising us today. He should be here any minute now." he told me.  
  
I nodded and sat down on a log waiting for Ward. I didn't have to wait long, the big man strode casually into the clearing where we usually fought and waved at both of us. It was either Kiros or Ward who supervised these fights just in case something goes wrong and a blade slips and injures someone. Not that it would happen, but it was Garden's policy.  
  
"Okay, let's get this over with. I want to go eat." said Ward.  
  
It wasn't surprising. Ward ALWAYS wants to go eat.  
  
We saluted each other and summoned our metasites. I held my typical semi- offensive stance with my blade at my side and casually pointing towards the ground. Seifer did his famous taunting form, holding his sword arm straight out with his blade cocked down at a slight angle while his other arm lay relaxed at his side. He was quite cocky and loved using that stance because it gave him a calm, almost arrogant look.  
  
I cleared out the thoughts of my mind and focused only on beating Seifer. The day before, I had come close but was knocked back at the last minute. I wasn't going to let that happen again.  
  
Wasting no time, I quickly charged at him and whipped my blade forward at the last second. This is where my trademark strike came from, eventually I developed this move into the nearly unstoppable flash that I use now.  
  
Seifer cleanly blocked the blow and tried to land a kick to my gut but I anticipated it and dodged out of the way before he could do it. Immediately, I swiped my blade sideways but he blocked it again and brought his sword around swinging it at my head. Ducking under the blow I thrust my blade at his unprotected torso. I thought for sure I would have landed a hit but Seifer always had some tricks up his sleeve and he twisted out of the way.  
  
I didn't dwell on that move for it would have meant my defeat. Instead, I focused on his next move, a straight cleave down the center, and dodged nimbly to the side. I swept my blade across in a split second and shocked even myself. I had my blade pressed against Seifer's temple.  
  
I had won.  
  
I guess he was just as surprised as I was. His eyes were wide with shock and he just kept staring at me incredulously. Ward started clapping and laughed a little. Maybe that's what sent Seifer over the edge 'cause he glared at me one more time and knocked my blade out of the way. Sheathing his own sword he waved a careless little "goodbye" and walked away.  
  
Ward came over and gave me a pat on the back.  
  
"Good job, I was wondering when you'd beat him." he said.  
  
I removed the metasite armor and looked up uncertainly at him. The look on Seifer's face was the same as when he found out I beat his score on the field test. I could tell that Ward sensed it because he just gave me another reassuring little pat and smiled.  
  
"Don't worry about him. He's always like that. Doesn't like it when people beat him you see?" he explained.  
  
I nodded and went off to my dorm. I was going over to Emi's place for dinner that night and I needed a quick shower before leaving. Emi had later classes than me so I had an hour to spare before we were going to her apartment. Julia always invited me over about three to four times a week and this would always be the routine.  
  
I was extremely happy I beat Seifer but I was thinking a lot while I was in the shower. Would Seifer hate me for defeating him in battle? He certainly seemed like he hated me. But why should he hate me? He beat me every time before that day! Maybe he was just surprised and left quickly...but that wasn't right. Seifer wouldn't do that. I still couldn't believe how Seifer acted. I thought Seifer would have congratulated me and said something about how next time he'd get me and laugh or something. I was very curious as to how our next training session would play out.  
  
In the meantime, I had to get dressed before Emi got to my dorm. I quickly pulled on a white t-shirt, black jeans, and a fur collared jacket and started sharpening my secondary blade while waiting for Emi.  
  
I didn't have to wait long. It only took three minuted of blade- sharpening to burn time before I heard a soft knock on the door. I got up and was met by Emi's now familiar face.  
  
"Hey" she said. She gave me one of her trademark pretty smiles and then started walking down the hall.  
  
I slid the key into my dorm room and locked it up then caught up to her.  
  
"Hey" I greeted back.  
  
We didn't really talk much until we reached the gates. Julia went home early to prepare dinner so she didn't drive us. Not that we minded, it was a beautiful day outside, just reaching the sunset. The gatekeeper, a metasite by the name of Dirk, asked for our ID's even though he had seen us an infinite number of times. We just quickly flashed it and walked past the gates of Galbadia Garden.  
  
Julia told me that she felt safer if I was there to walk Emi home so she could go home early instead of waiting for Emi. Personally, I thought that Emi was fully capable of taking care of herself. She was a metasite after all. But I didn't mind, I enjoyed spending time with Emi even if I didn't really show it.  
  
"Squall, when's your next mission?" Emi asked.  
  
I had completely forgotten about it since my training with Seifer. I cursed myself for being so careless and cursed my metasite too since it was supposed to remember these things. I guess it was focused on that battle with Seifer too.  
  
"It's next week" I answered.  
  
"Oh okay. Mine's two weeks from now. I'm with Zone again." she said. "Oh..."  
  
Like I said, I wasn't too great with conversation.  
  
"Where are you going?" she asked.  
  
It seems like she always does most of the talking.  
  
"Err..I'm going to Shumi Village up North. They say Balamb's taken over the village and we want to take it back. It's one of the few draw points of Ultima there are in the world." I said, pleased that I had something else to say.  
  
"Oh I see...you're fighting Balamb already?" she asked quite shocked.  
  
"Yeah, Kiros recommended me so they let me on one of the Rank B strike teams just to see how I handle a more dangerous situation." I told her.  
  
She stopped walking and her eyes went wide as she stared at me.  
  
"What?" I asked. Her sudden bizarre behavior was sort of creeping me out.  
  
"Are you crazy?!" she suddenly bursted out.  
  
"No I think I'm alright." I said. Just as confused as before.  
  
"You're going to die Squall!" she said. I focused my vision and saw that she had tears in her eyes.  
  
"Well...sure, everybody dies eventually."  
  
She shook her head clearly annoyed.  
  
"No, I mean you're going to get killed in that mission. Don't go. You can't." she said slightly calmer though her voice was still shaking.  
  
"Listen Emi, I'm not going to die. I'll be fine." I told her even though I had no way of guaranteeing it. I felt it was the right thing to say.  
  
Shr started walking again and then placed a hand on my shoulder. A bit startled by her movement I just stood rooted to the spot.  
  
"You don't understand...enemies from Balamb aren't some stupid drug dealers or petty criminals like you're used to fighting. Those guys are trained soldiers..." she told me and then she headed towards her house.  
  
I just shrugged and walked after her. Boy do I feel like a dumb ass now. If I were a little smarter back then I would have asked myself how a nine year old girl from Galbadia would know just how much training Balamb soldiers get and how dangerous they really were...  
  
But Emi also had not seen me fight since our first mission together. In one year's time I had improved greatly, which is why Kiros suggested I try a tougher mission. Emi had also underestimated me.  
  
By the time we arrived at Emi's place, it was as if that entire scene had never happened. I thought it was just 'cause we were kids and little arguments are easily forgotten. But looking back, I know that wasn't the case at all.  
  
"Hi Squall! Dinner's almost ready, you and Emi can just wait at the table!" cried Julia the moment I stepped into the apartment.  
  
I walked into the living room and sat at the table. I had always been aware of a picture of a strong, square-jawed man located just above the fireplace. Seeing that Emi seemed perfectly happy again and Julia was not there yet I decided to ask who he was.  
  
"Emi...who is that?" I asked. I thought I had a pretty good idea of the answer.  
  
"He's m-my father." she answered.  
  
Julia walked in at that moment and I guess she must have overheard or something because she told me all about her "husband" and how he died in a car crash. I'm pretty sure I know now that the picture was a doctored picture or just a random photograph of some guy because now I know that Emi's father was none other than a certain Mr. Caraway and the man in the photograph was not him.  
  
But that's beside the point. Our dinner went pleasantly enough and I told them about how I finally bested Seifer. Both mother and daughter seemed quite happy and speaking of the father's death didn't seem to phase them at all. As always, Julia offered me a ride back to the Garden but I refused and told her I could manage. She always seemed to make a fuss about how I shouldn't be walking out when it was so late. It was only nine...She always wanted me to sleep over at her place but I couldn't because the Garden didn't allow it.  
  
I walked back to the Garden with a full stomach and in quite a happy mood. The dinner had really helped to make me forget about the qualms with Seifer I was having that day.  
  
I can honestly tell you that the passing week before my mission was nothing special. Didn't do anything, just the normal routine of training and eating and sleeping. Kiros kept going over everything he taught me. He seemed much more worried about this mission than all the ones I went on before.  
  
It HAS been a year since my first mission and I was sent on way more missions all of which I passed with nothing less than perfect marks. This particular mission would be another major turning point in my life which is why I'm mentioning it.  
  
I'm skipping all the boring stuff and just getting to what's important.  
  
The day of the mission I did everything I should have done. My normal routine, then I went to talk to Kiros. He gave me quite a talk, kept telling me to stay constantly alert against any opponent. He seemed very anxious and I could see he was sweating a bit nervously.  
  
I proceeded to meet the team at the transport docking bay. I met Jordan and Harry, two other metasites who would be working with me. They kind of seemed like they looked down on me, like they were so much better than everyone else. Rank B was quite a high rank, only two ranks below the top.  
  
Jordan and Harry were both seventeen years old and had completed the 11 year training program two years ago. Jordan was long and lanky, blonde with a hooked nose and slight freckles. Harry was shorter and stockier than his comrade and had black hair streaked with brown. Our commander was a man by the name of Litz. He looked like somebody had carved his face out of stone, I swear to this day, nobody I've ever met had an ass as hard as that guy.  
  
"Listen up" said Litz as we entered the transport "I want you all to follow the rules perfectly. No goofing off!"  
  
We all stood up straight and listened attentively.  
  
"Okay...Harry....Jordan...and...Squall" he said as he ticked off our names.  
  
When he reached my name he looked up and gave me a piercing stare straight in the eye. I returned his gaze, determined not to show any emotion whatsoever. After about a second, he looked back at his sheet and read out or mission objectives.  
  
"This is almost a full scale war mission. You will be required to bring down all of your enemies, by any means necessary. None of that 'try not to kill' crap. We're not looking to take prisoners, just go in and slaughter them. They're well trained Balamb soldiers and they're not clueless about how to deal with metasites so they all have swords. Another thing is that they're expecting you so you lose the element of surprise. But remember this...as good as they are, they're still men. Don't let your guard down and you'll be fine. No careless mistakes! Meet us back here in three hours, that gives you more than enough time. Our transport's gonna go in and out because it's enemy territory. We should be arriving in less than a minute so when the transport stops, get out there and start your mission." he informed us.  
  
After about 30 seconds, the transport stopped moving and the door was thrown open. Immediately I heard loud gunshots blaring at the heavily armored transport. The thing couldn't stay out in the open for long so I dashed outside and was followed by Jordan and Harry. All of us were fully armored and had our weapons drawn. I quickly scanned all of the blue uniformed soldiers in the houses all around us and on the rooftops shooting down at us. The transport started moving backwards and we were left just outside the gates of the Shumi Village.  
  
I leapt to the side to avoid gunfire and watched as my two companions did the same. The scenery was beautiful but the battle was not. The guards were still shooting at us even though they couldn't get us.  
  
I decided I had had enough so I moved from the boulder that was covering me and ran up a tree then I jumped from the tree onto one of the tall guard towers installed on the wall and in one quick movement decapitated the soldier at the tower.  
  
The battle had begun.  
  
AN: As I stated earlier, I've got exams this week so I probably won't update. This chapter was a bit longer than usual to make up for it =) Remember to review! It means a lot to me! Every review counts! Shout outs as usual =D  
  
Ari-Morrigan: I hope your day got better =( Thanks for the review though! The compliments were very good. More about the motherly figure in this chapter and it kinda starts off the rivalry between Squall and Seifer though I didn't want to drag it on too much, I'm gonna take my time with it otherwise it'll sound really cheezy lol. Keep reviewing!  
  
angel-brokensorrow: Hahaha! Yes Squall is quite sad when he's a kid isn't he? =P Sorry 'bout the uneventful chapter, hopefully this chapter and the next one will make up for it. Character development is basically using different events and conversations to help change the way the reader feels about the character and to give more information about the character. I like to integrate it into my stories because it adds an extra element which makes it a nicer read =) Hope that sums it up more or less...  
  
Etherealist: Well, in my experience, girls are bigger than boys when they're kids. It's not until later on that boys get that growth spurt and are bigger than girls lol oh well hahaha! Yes, Squall's exam score is very impressive and I also stated specifically in the last few chapters of the original "Metasite" story that Emi is Rinoa's sister o_0 can't remember which chapter it is right off the top of my head, but that's an important chapter you should re-read! =P  
  
Selphie Tilmitt-Kinneas: Yeah, I rush through these chapters quite quickly lol Don't really have time to proofread too much so some punctuation errors here and there might be quite common =P Thanks for reviewing and keep your eye out for more errors, sometimes a small typo makes the whole story sound really retarded   
  
Thanks to the four reviewers of that chapter. Only four, but they were all great =D Keep it up you guys! 


	10. Chapter 10: Fearsome Foe

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8 or any of the characters from FF8.  
  
AN: YAY! So many reviews this time! Thanks everybody, that made my week =D *kisses all the ladies and shakes the guys' hands* err...anyways =P I'm done my exams so I can finally have a bit of peace and continue this story.  
  
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Chapter 10: Fearsome Foe  
  
Maybe it was because my teammates saw me attack, or maybe it was just a coincidence, but right after I came out of hiding, they shot out from their own covers and launched their own attack. They coordinated their attacks, the way a team should.  
  
Harry's metasite was an ugly yellow color, the color of puke. He used an axe much like the type that people use to chop down trees, with a long handle and a single blade. It was actually a bigger version of a hatchet.  
  
His companion, Jordan, was taller but less heavily built. Jordan's metasite was also yellow but it was a yellow that was closer to orange, sort of peachy. He held a standard cruciform, a cross shaped broad sword that the knights of old liked to use.  
  
Harry and Jordan bashed straight through the front gates and started hacking down guards left right and center. Their attack was based heavily on pure strength, not that that's bad, but it would lead to a lot of trouble if they faced an opponent stronger and more powerful than they were. They didn't know how to adapt.  
  
I had a more versatile style. Kiros trained me to be able to fight against any type of opponent. I ran along the wall and cut down the soldiers as they came. These guys all held sabers and no guns. They were ready for us, I could tell, guns would not do anything against metasites and they would just weigh down the guards so it was pointless for them to carry them. Instead, the guns were already attached to the wall so that they could shoot at us before we got on the wall to try to do whatever damage they could hope to do.  
  
I was surrounded, one guy at the front and one at the back. Their skills weren't bad, I could tell they were well trained to handle metasites. The soldiers sort of hung there for a few seconds. I guess they weren't expecting to be attacked by a kid. But they quickly got over it, the guard in front charged me bringing his blade down to try to slice into my head. I smirked to myself and jumped onto the edge of the wall, my metasite gave me an enhanced sense of balance so it was a piece of cake to stand on the thin edge. The soldier didn't have enough time to stop his attack and he mistakenly cut his comrade instead, burying his blade into the Balamb- crafted armor. He was surprised as hell and his mouth was wide open. I took the opportunity to run my own blade straight through his skull.  
  
I continued running along the edge of the wall because it gave me an extra height advantage. I just ran straight down the wall with my blade stuck out and it basically mowed down all the soldiers. By the time I was done, dead guards were laying all over the wall and the ground was slick with blood. I turned and watched Harry and Jordan continue to pummel deeper into the enemy headquarters.  
  
I was about to stop them when my metasite alerted me of very faint footsteps. I was wondering why it would alert me of something like that since there were explosions and people running around everywhere. But by some twist of fate, my attention was drawn to ward a very faint running. Then I heard the footsteps stop and push off as if jumping. I looked around everywhere and then I saw him.  
  
Harry and Jordan were too pre-occupied with killing their victims that they failed to see him. All I saw was a silhouette against the sun of a human-shaped figure but I knew at once that it was a metasite. The shadow quickly descended on my two comrades.  
  
Harry looked up, but it was too late. The metasite was larger than both Harry and Jordan, almost as large as Ward. But unlike Ward, this metasite was as if he was made out of pure muscle and steel. He was a grey color with black interlocking plates that made up his armor. I could still see the organic tendrils of a metasite underneath the plates but I had never seen a metasite that looked like him. He lacked the characteristic markings that cover the body of most metasites so he looked almost robotic. He carried a long spear with a wicked serrated beam blade.  
  
Harry was impaled upon the bright red blade. It pierced right through his metasite armor and smokey, yellow blood gushed out of the wound covering the battlefield. With a flick of his spear, the metasite threw Harry off. Jordan was shocked but he was a warrior so he put it out of his mind. I saw him raise his broadsword to take down his opponent but the metasite spun his spear around and jabbed it into Jordan's abdomen dropping him as well. The field was now drenched with a thin layer of metasite blood giving the whole scene a foggy, dreamlike look.  
  
I knew that we had been ambushed. They knew exactly how many metasites we were going to send and had a metasite at the back waiting for us. They waited until Harry and Jordan were all the way into the base before striking so there was no hope of escape. But there was one thing they didn't expect. They didn't expect me to fight alone, they thought that a squadron would work together to punch through the front lines of the defense. The metasite looked around and he saw me at the top of the wall. I considered running but I knew there really was nowhere to run, he would definitely catch up to me. Also, Kiros told me to never turn my back from a fight, if I was going to die, I was going to die fighting him head on.  
  
But I had to let Galbadia know that there was trouble. They gave me a tiny emergency radio. It was attached to the belt I was wearing and had a one time use battery that allowed me to make one report back to the transport that brought us to Shumi Village. I quickly brought it out and pressed the transmit button.  
  
"This is Squall Leonhart, circumstances have changed and the mission has become disastrous. I am now facing an unknown metasite who has just killed both my teammates. I am engaging the enemy now. Over."  
  
I ended the transmission and then calmly launched myself from the wall down to ground level. The soldiers surrounded him like some sort of mob. Then I heard him speak.  
  
"Hmph...he's just a kid." he said with a mocking, arrogant, tone. The soldier beside him decided to fill him in with some more info.  
  
"Sir, that metasite was what slaughtered all of our forces on the wall." he said.  
  
"Just lucky" replied the metasite "you guys can take him, don't waste my time."  
  
I didn't let him get to my head. I knew the key to winning a fight like this was to not let anything get to me so I put the death of Harry and Jordan out of my head as well. I was focused only on what I should do to kill my opponent. I guess the soldiers had some confidence in him since three of them actually attempted to attack me.  
  
I decided to let the metasite know that I wasn't 'just a kid' by taking out the three attacking soldiers. With startling efficiency, I whipped my blade three times and had three dead soldiers in front of where I stood. The metasite laughed a little.  
  
"Alright. If that's really how you want to play. Let's play." he said.  
  
He ignited his metablade spear and the soldiers around him cowered to the back leaving us a nice open plane to duel in.  
  
I raised my blade and saluted him slowly. He laughed again, harder than he had before. Up close, he seemed even bigger than before, he towered above me. But I was determined to face him down no matter how big he was.  
  
"You like to play by the rules huh? Fine, we'll do it by the book" he started to salute with his spear "my name's Sebastian Niamir, it's only customary to let your opponent know who you are, right?" he taunted.  
  
"Squall Leonhart" I replied.  
  
I wanted him to talk for as long as possible because in my mind, I was thinking of how I should go about fighting this giant. From what I had seen, he wasn't just big, he was fast and strong as well. This man was older than me and that made him bigger, faster, and stronger than me. But being older doesn't mean being smarter and that was the key to this duel. I had to fight smart. The only advantages I had were my brain and my weapon. A spear is an effective weapon for ranged attacks which make it effective against wild animals. Against a metasite or a human, the sword was still the weapon of choice because of how it can fight at long range with the point, or close range with the blade. That was the key. I had to get in close and take away the advantage he had with the spear. Sebastian Niamir would be too big to manoeuver if I could get through his spear. I always tried to mount the offensive so I lowered my blade and charged at him. It seemed as though getting through his defenses was easier said than done because he was skilled at keeping me at bay. I twisted around avoiding his thrusts and blocked some of them with Lionheart but I was losing ground. Eventually I saw an opening and dove in with my blade extended thinking the battle would be over. It was far from over, he was so fast that he saw me penetrate his defense so he let stopped gripping his spear with one hand and used it to punch me in the face. I didn't even see it coming because I was too focused on my own thrust.  
  
He hit me so hard I flew backwards into the wall. I could feel the heavy concrete break apart as my body slammed into it. Pain shot through my back but it was immediately diminished as my metasite put it out of my head. I looked up just in time to see the point of my opponent's spear aimed directly at my head. Out of pure instinct I rolled out of the way and got to my feet with my sword held up in front of me in a defensive stance. I backed away to give myself some distance.  
  
He was too fast and he anticipated my moves. My first attempt at closing the distance was almost fatal and I was pretty sure that if I tried again, I wouldn't be so lucky. I had to formulate another plan.  
  
Looking at his weapon I came to the deduction that the only deadly part of a spear is the point. The other parts couldn't really kill me, not even hurt me very badly. I had to do something that he would not expect. This Sebastian guy was so tall that he couldn't thrust his spear straight out to hit me because I was so low to the ground. He would have to thrust downwards toward the ground in order to strike at me. That gave me an idea and that is exactly how I won that battle.  
  
I steadied myself because I knew I would only have one chance and it required absolute focus to pull of the manoeuver that I was about to try. Instead of attacking, I stood my ground and watched as Sebastian approached me slowly. He was confident that he could beat me, he was in no rush so he walked towards me slowly with his spear held out in front. I could almost see him smirking underneath the mask his metasite created for him.  
  
I watched his hands carefully, scanning for any signs of tightening and movement. He was almost upon me. I held my own weapon relaxed and casual because I needed my strike to be fast and precise, holding the sword tight would not help.  
  
Suddenly Sebastian tightened his grip and thrust his spear forward. It was a movement designed to finish me off. It seemed like he wanted to finally end our little fight, and end it he did, but not the way he imagined. As he thrust his spear towards me I leapt up and used my perfect balance to stand on the handle of the spear. My weight caused the blade to drive into the ground and I used the spear as a staircase. I ran up the thin handle towards my opponents head and then brought my blade forward and with one jerk, cut Sebastian Niamir's throat. His blood was grey as smoke and it coated the ground like a thin layer of fog. I landed nimbly on the ground and watched as the warrior collapsed in death.  
  
The remaining soldiers fled, taking whatever cars they had and leaving through the back doors of Shumi Village as quickly as they could. I walked up to the bodies of Harry and Jordan and saluted them. Then I bent down and began digging through the metasite armor to find their emergency radios.  
  
Harry's radio got damaged by Sebastian's attack so I had to use Jordan's.  
  
"Squall Leonhart again, I've defeated the enemy metasite and captured Shumi Village. Requesting a transport back to Galbadia and a clean up team for the Village. Over."  
  
I was too tired to walk back to the base. I was mentally and physically drained but strangely proud of myself. I hadn't felt that much pride for a long time but at the same time I felt a shadow of darkness pass over me. I had seen two metasites ruthlessly massacred in front of me. I saluted the corpses of my comrades, the closest they would get to a proper burial. Metasites don't get proper burials, if anybody tries to disturb the body, it explodes. It's one of those defensive mechanisms you see in animals. It might sound sad, but the metasite always gets the last laugh.  
  
Many people said that I was a strange, almost disturbing child simply because of how easily I could face death. Of course nobody would say this stuff in front of me but rumors spread and eventually it'll get back to me. I've heard that many people thought I would drift into the realm of insanity because I was suppressing my depression.  
  
"Hell anybody would be depressed" was their argument.  
  
It wasn't a bad argument at all, with all the deaths in my life, it's quite an ordeal for a kid.  
  
The truth? Well, the truth is I think over time I just got used to it. It's only natural, tragedy and death has been such a commodity in my life that I learned to live with it. The death of my parents was the tip of the iceberg. Harry and Jordan were the next casualties. A ten year old shouldn't face such horrors. I tried to do what was right. What I thought was right.  
  
Sebastian Niamir was my first opponent from Balamb. The way he acted and how he slaughtered the members of my Squad left me with a strange pit of anger within my stomach. I wondered how he could have acted with such cruelty, he was an adult after all. I wondered how a full grown adult could even have the thought of killing two teenagers and a ten year old pass through his mind much less actually carry it out.  
  
Before, I thought that Galbadia was the enemy. But seeing people such as Kiros, Ward, Ellone, Emi, and Julia gave me second thoughts. Was Galbadia REALLY who was evil? They DID kill my parents...but that was just the retrieval squad doing it's job. It HAS been five years since they killed my parents. Could it really have been just an accident? No, it couldn't...the retrieval squad was given permission to kill resistance. They just did what was necessary...just like Sebastian Niamir...  
  
I began to doubt myself. Doubt whether or not I should still subconsciously search for the retrieval squad captain that murdered my parents.  
  
I came to the conclusion that I would continue my search for the honor of my parents. However, I would not hold my grudge against the entire Galbadia. There have been too many people that have treated me like a son, daughter, or brother that I have met in Galbadia and I could not, no matter how cold-hearted they said I was, betray them.  
  
The transport came soon enough. A cleanup squad spread out and began piling the bodies up and taking them away. They would detonate the metasites when everything the wanted was either cleared away or protected. The explosions would be powerful but not strong enough to blow up chunks of the wall or anything like that.  
  
Litz walked out to greet me and his face was chalk-white. The man with nerves of steel and balls to match looked like he had seen a ghost. He ushered me into the transport and began interrogating me. He didn't understand why nobody saw the metasite. They were sure that they had scanned the area and proved that it was safe. The only reason why a metasite as strong as Sebastian would be there was because they already knew we were going to attack...  
  
Galbadia had never lost more than C class metasites to Balamb. The deaths of Harry and Jordan had been the most crippling blow Galbadia had ever suffered. Sebastian Niamir was an enigma, nobody knew where he came from or anything. One thing was for sure though, I was definitely going to be promoted to A class.  
  
Kiros seemed shaken by the whole thing but at the same time he was also extremely happy. Trust me, if you haven't seen somebody who looks traumatized yet up to his ears in joy...let's just say you've never seen a funny expression...Kiros looked like he had a cattle prod up his ass but had gotten an early Christmas present at the same time. He came up to me and gave me a pat on the back then started asking me everything just like Litz did. But Kiros cared more about how I fought and how Sebastian fought rather than the nitty gritty details of the mission.  
  
I saw Emi too, she had a scared expression on her face and just looked at me puzzled. I only caught a glimpse of her because Kiros ushered me off to the showers to clean up. Something about Emi's reaction made me think back to what she told me before. She said that I was going to get killed during the mission. Indeed I was supposed to get killed during that mission. Obviously, Balamb had intended an ambush that would have ensured their victory. Nobody expected me to defeat Sebastian. How had Emi known that the mission would have been a disaster? Was it just a coincidence that she thought I wasn't ready to join a class B squad? I didn't know at the time but I decided to go with my second choice.  
  
That battle showed me that it is not which side we take or what army we belong to that makes us evil. Nobody is pure evil, but some people have their priorities set in the wrong place. The squad leader who killed my parents definitely had to pay. Little did I know, it wouldn't be very long before he DID pay...  
  
AN: Finally finished this chapter! Once again I apologize for the slow update, I had a lot to do this week including three exams This chapter, as explained before, is an important one. Quite a few of you asked questions as to why Squall is helping Galbadia if they killed his parents. In this chapter I began to break apart that puzzle but it's still quite complicated so keep reading. Thinking up a way for Squall to beat Sebastian was tough because Sebastian (seemingly) had all the advantages. I had to do research *gasp* to find advantages that swords have over spears lol So you guys better appreciate it! =P jk. Thank you to all the reviewers this week and I hope you guys can keep it up! Shout outz:  
  
Rhi-an: You're very welcome for the update =D Hope you enjoy this chapter and keep reviewing!  
  
AngeFantasy: Thanks for telling me that I'm not losing readers =P That just makes me feel better hahaha! Lots of questions yet none that I can answer...yet lol There's still plenty more in this story and it's not that shallow so keep reading. I hope I answered some questions in this chapter. And I wish you all the best in your exams since I'm done mine hehe.  
  
Selphie Tilmitt-Kinneas: Hahaha! I always try to add little tidbits of humor her and there in the story just to break up the dark tone a bit. Ward's eating was stuck in there for comic relief so I'm glad you didn't take it all serious and stuff (you didn't...right? =P). Thanks for looking out for errors, my fingers slip quite a bit since I'm really not skilled in typing -_-  
  
XxMazLeonhartxX: Thanks for the compliments! Yeah I know Squall is out of character but it's done on purpose because I need him to be like that so he can change later. You'll see what I mean as the story progresses, for now, just enjoy and read ^_^  
  
angel-brokensorrow: LOL you're welcome about the character development thing hahaha Thanks for the compliments on the last chapter. Hope you like this chapter as well =) And btw I can tell you right now that the dude in the picture is nobody important =P He's just put there to disguise as Julia's husband. It's a doctored pic meaning they took a picture of a guy and fixed it so that it doesn't look like him and it looks like a guy who doesn't exist so don't bother racking your brains trying to figure out who the guy is =P  
  
Ari-Morrigan: You're a sharp one hehe kudos to you for picking up Emi's reaction to Squall fighting Balamb. I contained bits and pieces of foreshadowing in this chapter so keep your eyes open ~_^ Yes I like to let out little bits of the plot in each chapter so it sort of unfolds a little at a time and doesn't just come rushing out hahaha! Thanks for the review! And thanks for wishing me luck! I sure as hell need it =P  
  
Etherealist: Really really! Hahaha! Well, now you know so that's okay =P I'll be sure to read your vampire fanfic ASAP. I'll try to update sooner so you don't forget huge chunks of the plot like that ~_^ Thanks for reviewing!  
  
remote mine: Thanks for reviewing and your constructive criticism =) I tried to cut down on the run-on sentences. Sometimes I don't really realize I did it hahaha! So it's good that you can point it out to me. You're another one who caught the characterization in the past chapter, congrats to you and keep reading!  
  
I think that's it! *Phew* 8 reviews, hope you guys can keep it up! Thank you all and expect next chapter to be up next week! Btw, if I missed you, just let me know ~_^ 


	11. Chapter 11: A Warrior's Promise

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8 or any of the characters from FF8.  
  
AN: Gahhh sorry about slow update. Somehow my comp died on me for 2 weeks and I couldn't log onto fanfiction.net THEN I had a super load of hw because exams are slowly approaching. But I'm back and hopefully should be able to write a bit more now. Thanks for the reviews, hope to see some more of you reviewing. Thanks to all of you who got me to write again. Enjoy chapter 11 =)  
  
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Chapter 11: A Warrior's Promise  
  
I became pretty much an instant celebrity in Galbadia Garden. I was the youngest student at the Garden to ever be promoted to A Class. Only the S Class soldiers were a higher rank than me and I was only 11 years old.  
  
News travels fast and in a day or two after I defeated Sebastian Niamir, everybody knew about how I completed the seemingly impossible mission. The stories that floated around the Garden were all different but they had the general idea of what happened. Some people said I took a blow through the chest and held his spear there so I could hit him with my sword. Others said I got lucky and Sebastian slipped on one of the corpses or something. And then there were the people who actually got the story right...unfortunately, these were the people who didn't believe the story.  
  
Of course, once I became famous, I gained a bunch of supporters (or fans) and a bunch of people who deeply loathed me out of jealousy more than anything. People would talk behind my back saying I lied about my story and that my teammates had dispatched of Sebastian but succumbed to their own deaths when Sebastian self-destructed. This theory didn't make any sense because they found Sebastian's body intact and the bodies of both my teammates intact. If Sebastian blew up after he died, surely his own body would have been gone and the bodies of Harry and Jordan would be at least torn up a little.  
  
I didn't care about the people who didn't like me. I was never one to give a damn about what people thought about me, though it was nice that the majority of the people really liked me and respected me after that incident.  
  
Emi was one of those people who believed my story. At first she couldn't exactly grasp the concept of it but I assured her I was telling the truth. She looked at me differently, I sensed a strange emotion coming from her, almost as if she was glad I came back alive but at the same time felt a certain sense of guilt. But I didn't care too much, she was still my friend...unlike Seifer.  
  
People change over time, some people are slow to do it, and others are fast. Seifer was probably the fastest ever. It only took one day, actually only a few hours, for Seifer to evolve from one of my best and most trusted friends, to what would one day be my most lethal enemy. I think he couldn't stand how I made A class when he hadn't even made B. When I beat him during our training and when I scored higher than him on the Field Test, Seifer had suppressed his own feelings of hatred. But after I was promoted to A Class, I think Seifer just couldn't stand it anymore because now everybody knew I had bested him. Unlike me, Seifer DOES care about what people think of him, he was used to everybody thinking of him as Galbadia's next greatest metasite. What he was used to was no more when I suddenly created a name for myself seemingly out of nowhere. I bumped into him in the halls the day after my mission and I instantly knew that I would have to forget about Seifer as a friend and start treating him as a potentially dangerous opponent.  
  
"Hey Seifer, where're you off to?" I asked.  
  
"That, Squall, is none of your business." he responded.  
  
He did not look me in the eye and the tone of his voice was the iciest I had ever heard. And when I say I bumped into him, it should be "he bumped into me"...and I mean LITERALLY bumped into me.  
  
Needless to say, Seifer wasn't exactly jumping with joy at the sight of me. Instead of feeling hurt or sad that Seifer treated me that way, I just ignored him, what would come would come in time. If he wanted to act that way, then by all means he could.  
  
In the meantime, I had Emi and Zone for companionship. Both of them were moving up the ranks quickly too, although they were at snail's pace compared to me.  
  
I also went to see Ellone a lot more often. She never changed, same old Ellone. She was really worried about me when I was sent off on that mission and even more worried when I radioed back to the base telling them I was in trouble. She practically squeezed the life out of me and ruffled my hair till I looked like a miniature version of a Furby.  
  
A peculiar thing happened one time I was in Ellone's office. She had to go treat some kid while I was eating lunch with her, turns out the cadet had scabbed his knee or something. She told me to wait for her while she took care of the kid so I just sat in the room eating my turkey sandwich. I looked around her room as little kids always do and my metasite vision caught the corner of a piece of paper sticking out of a folder under a bunch of other junk. Ellone wasn't exactly organized. The reason I payed special attention to that folder was because of what was written on it. Only part of it was visible because only a corner was sticking out. It read:  
  
Name: Leon L- Location: W- Metasite R-  
  
I cocked an eyebrow and turned scanned the surroundings with all my senses making sure Ellone was not going to be coming in anytime soon. I quickly dug out that sheet of paper and gasped out loud in shock as the name I had forgotten for six years came back to me. And with that name, came all the haunting memories of my chilling past.  
  
Name: Leon Loire Location: Winhill Metasite Radar: Confirmed Father: Laguna Loire  
-ex-soldier (c-class)  
-journalist  
-military background is limited Mother: Raine Loire  
-ex-nurse  
-unemployed  
-no military background Team Sent to Retrieve: Class C Team Leader: Michael Barbarrose  
-permission to kill (though not recommended)  
-issued standard revolver  
  
Nobody told me who the killer of my parents were. Nobody. I kept bugging Kiros and Ellone and they never let anything out. They knew it all along yet they never told me. I knew why, they didn't want me to get myself in trouble by doing something stupid such as dwelling on the past. Well, I probably would have let it slide had I not made a promise to myself that I would avenge the death of my parents. Also, I was mad at Ellone and mad at Kiros and mad at everybody who didn't tell me who murdered my mom and dad. I was determined to do just what they didn't want me to do. I know it was stupid, but at the time I was so consumed with anger that I lost myself.  
  
As I reflect on my past I realize just how dangerous I was. I was a fool. A goddamn fool because of the way I thought. That was probably the first and only time in which I let anger take control of me and it was because of that time that I vowed I would never again let myself fall into the realm of darkness.  
  
I hastily stuffed the sheet back into the folder and put it back exactly where it had been before. Even somebody who took a photo of the room before I moved it and put it back wouldn't have known that it was moved.  
  
Ellone and I had a rather peaceful lunch after my little discovery. But I knew because of that info sheet, things were about to get a lot less peaceful for a certain Mr. Barbarrose.  
  
I had a plan, a foolish plan, but a plan that was almost guaranteed to work. I had conceived it after many years of careful planning. All I needed was the name of the soldier who shot both my parents. Now I had it and I was ready.  
  
First off, I dedicated an hour of my day to go to the library and ask the librarian for the latest metasite discoveries. Once I had that list, I went to the computer and did a search for Michael Barbarrose. I discovered that Barbarrose only went to recover the metasites who were between ages of four to six. After that, I went to Ellone's office and hung out there every day. Ellone was the first one to get the readings on a new metasite and she would have to run tests and stuff before sending the retrieval squad. Once Ellone got the news on a new metasite that was between the ages of four and six, the plan would be put into action. It didn't take long for a metasite that fit my description to show up on the Metasite Radar. I was chatting with Ellone when it happened and I got lucky because it happened while I was actually WITH Ellone and not training with Kiros.  
  
"Oh I better not bother you, sis" I said "I'm just gonna go train a little and then head off to bed."  
  
"Alright, night then." she replied while busily running checks on the new metasite to make sure it actually WAS a metasite, the Metasite Radar isn't 100% accurate so Ellone still had to run a lot of tests by hand.  
  
I was not going to train or go to bed. I had seen clearly where the newly discovered metasite had been tracked and I hoped and prayed that the metasite radar wasn't wrong. According to the metasite radar, I was heading just outside Galbadia to Deling city. Fortunately it was only Deling and not someplace far like Balamb.  
  
The gatekeeper saw me and raised an eyebrow since it was sort of late and I shouldn't be leaving. But the old man knew me and he'd seen me come and go. I just gave him the excuse that I left my jacket at Emi's place and he ate it up.  
  
To tell the truth, it took a LOT of luck to pull off my plan. It's funny because the older I get, the stupider I feel about what I did. I mean, I could've lost EVERYTHING if I got caught simply because I would have a hard time explaining myself.  
  
But that's beside the point.  
  
Deling was a short trip from Galbadia. About a 20 minute sprint from Galbadia Garden. Once I left the Garden and I felt the cool wind hit me, I called my metasite and blasted as fast as I could towards Deling. I wanted to beat Barbarrose there so as to give myself lots of time to check out the surroundings.  
  
I memorized the address of the kid that was apparently a metasite. He lived in a high rise building mostly made of glass. Nice place, the kid must be rich I thought. My assumptions were correct and I soon spotted the lard ass. Didn't look like a metasite at all but I could feel it inside him, there WAS a metasite in there, weak as it was.  
  
I was hanging outside his window, literally. Just dangling there on the balcony slightly out of sight. Focusing my eyes downwards I saw the van carrying the retrieval squad casually driving down the road. It wasn't hard to miss since the Galbadia logo was stamped across it.  
  
The kid and his family were lucky. I caught a glimpse of an apartment newsletter that said there was a problem with the heating system in their building. I decided to use that as an advantage. I was planning to kill the entire retrieval squad and not leave a trace of evidence. I was clean for the time being, but the problem would be the kid and his parents. My original plan would be to slaughter the whole family and make it look like an accident by the retrieval squad and that the metasite's natural self- defense mechanism blew the retrieval squad to pieces. It would have come off clean but an easier solution would be to use the heating problem of the building.  
  
The retrieval squad used heavy gear, but not as high-tech as the soldiers on the front line. They all had full body armor that was equipped to handle any threat posed by normal men. Unfortunately the armor didn't have a very effective cooling system and it was very easy for the suits to overheat so they put a drop of adamantine in the backpack of each suit. Adamantine is a very special metal, it can exist as a liquid or a solid at room temperature and is the strongest material ever discovered. Adamantine also absorbs heat REALLY well. One drop of it would suck up all the heat inside a suit of armor and because of that, the adamantine inside the suit would be contained in a small area and at an extremely high temperature.  
  
The problem with the heating system inside the apartment building was that it got hotter as the surroundings got hotter, people living inside the building were complaining because they had to control the temperatures inside their apartments to compensate for the heating system. Apparently, a guy was supposed to go fix it the next day. But it wasn't the next day yet.  
  
The kid's father went out on his balcony for a smoke and I quickly jumped up and pressed Lionheart against his throat.  
  
"Don't make a sound or you and your family are dead." I said.  
  
He obeyed and I led him back into his apartment building and shut up his wife and his tub of lard son. The looks on their faces were hilarious, pure terror, eyes wide, mouth agape. I would have laughed had it not been such a serious situation.  
  
With my acute metasite hearing I heard the retrieval squad lumbering into the building in their suits of armor. I quickly ushered the family into one of their closets and locked them in. Then I walked back out and sat on their couch facing the door.  
  
Within minutes, the loud banging of the retrieval squad was heard on the wooden frame and I stood up and drew Lionheart. After a few more knocks and some yelling, the geniuses decided to break down the door...by shooting at it. BLAM BLAM! Two shots with a pulse rifle and the door was turned into dust. That was when they saw me.  
  
Barbarrose looked like he was going to collapse. I slowly saluted him with my sword and let him see its deadly blue blade.  
  
"S-shoot him!" he started screaming hysterically. He let loose five shots right at me from a distance of only a couple of meters. His comrades followed suit and soon there were smoking holes all over the apartment. The guns weren't loud so as not to disturb the peace. I was glad because I didn't want an audience.  
  
The moment I saw him pull the trigger I was off. I danced around the bullets as if they were butterflies and knocked Barbarrose aside. I wanted to save him for last. The guy on the left was the first to fall. I dealt him a quick blow to the head with the flat of my blade and it put him out of the fight real quick. The pulse rifles were strong but not nearly fast enough or powerful enough to do damage to me. I reached out my hand and twisted the gun out of the second soldier's hand then used the back of the rifle as a bat and smacked him twice on the helmet followed by an elbow to seal the deal. Barbarrose was back on his feet and had his sword drawn, a slightly curved adamantine saber. It took me one move to remove the sword from his hand and have the tip of my own sword own his throat.  
  
"Now Mr. Barbarrose, it's time to listen to the last words you will ever hear." I said to him. I flicked my wrist and cut his helmet in half so I could see the shock and fear written all over his face.  
  
"You killed my parents six years ago and you didn't do it honorably either, you shot two innocent and defenseless people. Now, if I were like you, I'd stick my sword straight through your head right now. But that still wouldn't do it justice because you HAD a weapon before whereas my dad, he did not." I said, I could see him swallow nervously.  
  
"But I'm not like you. I'm not a cold blooded killer." I told him. I saw him relax a little. "But that doesn't mean I'm not a killer. Because of you, I was raised as a killer, taught how to murder my enemies, and shown the ways of a warrior. For that, I thank you, and since I'm such a nice guy, I'm going to let you die with everyone forever thinking of you as a hero. They will say after you're dead how courageous you were jumping out this window so that these other people wouldn't die because of your overheating suit. I don't know of a better way than that to die so you better cherish it." I said, then I let the metasite armor creep off my head so that my face was clearly visible to him.  
  
I smiled, a devilish grin that scared even myself, and I took him by the collar of his armor and threw him out the window in the center of the room. His screams could be heard echoing from building to building as he fell. Then all of a sudden it was deathly quiet. I smiled again and turned to the unconscious soldier's lying on the ground.  
  
"See what happens when you work for the wrong people?" I said to the lifeless bodies. And then I took each of them by the legs and flung them out the window to dwell forever in hell with their commander.  
  
AN: Okay, I hope I didn't get rusty after all this time without writing. Please let me know of any errors in the story or whatnot. This chapter was tough to write because I had to think of all that stuff about Adamantine. I also didn't explain 100% the "letting Barbarrose die with honor" thing, it's just one of those half explained things so I hope you guys will think about it and put 2 and 2 together. However, if you have any questions about what the hell is going on, just ask in your review and I will clear it up for you in the next chapter. Sorry, no shout outs this time 'cause I didn't update for so long =P 


	12. Chapter 12: Shame and Horror

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8 or any of the characters from FF8.  
  
AN: Wow! Didn't expect that many reviews since I didn't write for so long. Thanks for caring and not forgetting about this story! Shouts will be at the end so stay tuned =)  
  
Chapter 12: Shame and Horror  
  
By the time I had returned to the Garden, the whole neighborhood knew about the deaths of the Retrieval Squad members. I was actually feeling GOOD about it all, something I would make sure I'd never feel again.  
  
I can still remember it, a raw sense of power like nothing I had ever experienced. It was the darkness within me unleashed. I killed those three men not for justice or even revenge, but for sport. At the time, I thought I was avenging my parents. But Kiros made me see what I had REALLY done.  
  
I walked into my dorm with a skip in my step, feeling very pleased with myself. But I jumped about a foot in the air when I saw Kiros sitting at my desk just staring at me with a fierce glare in his eyes. Now, Kiros is the nicest guy you'll ever meet, but if you get him mad, you do not want to be on the receiving end of the argument.  
  
"Sit down." he said. The command had been simply said but it had a chilly ring to it that made me feel a slight tremble down my spine. I hastily obeyed and sat on the edge of my bed.  
  
"Squall, I know what you did" he said it calmly but coldly.  
  
"What? What're you talking about?" I said. I spoke as if I really had no clue, I didn't show him anything. But Kiros wasn't stupid, he saw through me like I was a jellyfish on the other side of a glass fish tank.  
  
"Shut up Squall. I know you killed the Retrieval Squad." he said. There was no way I could argue with him. He said it too surely and in a way that would have made me look stupid if I tried to steer him from the truth.  
  
What did I do then? Absolutely nothing. I just stood there like a rock.  
  
"Squall, listen to me. I don't EVER want you to do something like that ever again." he spoke softly but he put a dangerous accent to every word the came from his mouth.  
  
"I did it to get rev-"I was about to say revenge but Kiros held up and hand while shaking his head.  
  
"No. You didn't do it for revenge." I was puzzled. Surely I would know myself better than Kiros knew me. The whole reason I went to all that trouble was to get even.  
  
"What? Of course I did it for revenge! They killed my parents! Kiros, I finally accomplished what I was trying to do all this time." I was starting to get mad at him at this point because he treated me with no respect.  
  
"No, you didn't. You THINK you did, but you didn't. I've been trying to teach you this whole time about honor and you just threw it all out the window today. I'm very disappointed." he said.  
  
"What do you mean?! Everybody in the Garden thinks he committed suicide so that the people in that building would live. I let him die honorably." I explained.  
  
"You would not have killed him if you were thinking about honor. You let rage and hatred consume you and that is why you murdered those men today." he said softly and then stood up and walked towards me to the door. He put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a comforting pat, something I didn't expect. "Everyone makes mistakes, and this will be your first and last. I hope you never let the darkness engulf your heart...your father wouldn't want that to happen." he added.  
  
I was left standing there dumbstruck as Kiros left my room. I didn't know what to say, because now that I thought back to the event, I could see that it was indeed the anger and pain inside of me that caused the deaths of those three men that day. The scariest part was that it actually felt good when I launched them from the window. I learned then and there just how easy it was to let the darkness within take control of oneself.  
  
I knew Kiros wasn't going to tell the Garden what I had done. I wasn't worried about it at all, Kiros was not only my mentor and teacher, but also one of my most trusted friends, he would never do something like that to me. But something kept nagging at the back of my mind that night. Something I neglected to ask Kiros about before he left my dorm.  
  
What did he mean by my father not wanting me to let darkness engulf my heart?  
  
How would he know what my father would have wanted? As far as I knew, nobody in the Garden knew about my dad. I made it a point to ask him about it the next day. I got about two hours of sleep that night because of all the things going through my head. But one thing was decided, I would rather die than lose myself to the shadows.  
  
The next day, I finished my training with Kiros just like every other day. I was tired and beat up but happy because Kiros never mentioned anything about the night before.  
  
"Good work today Squall. Go get some rest and I'll see you back here tomorrow." he said just as briskly as he usually did. I took a deep breath and then looked him in the eyes. I really didn't want to bring back memories of the night before because I was so ashamed of myself. But I just had to ask him if he knew anything about my dad. The question had been burning in my mind since the previous night.  
  
"K-Kiros, you mentioned last night that my dad would not have wanted me to avenge his death by killing the Retrieval Squad." once again, I didn't get a chance to finish because Kiros jumped in.  
  
"Never mind about that, that was the past and as I've told you many times before, you should forget about the past." he said simply then he walked out on me again.  
  
I was flabbergasted and was once again left with the same question. Not being one to give up, I asked him again the day after. Kiros avoided answering again and we continued this little game every day until three weeks later even the mighty Kiros couldn't take it anymore.  
  
"Alright fine, you win. I'll tell you." he said. I was laughing out loud when I heard those words. Kiros took me to a small café in Deling, a rather unknown place called "George's Diner". The inside was quite roomy with round tables spaced out evenly around the restaurant and a TV playing some old music videos in the back. I walked in and was about to sit at a center table but Kiros put a hand on my shoulder and led me to a table in the upper left corner of the room. We both sat down and Kiros ordered a coffee while I asked for a glass of orange juice.  
  
"Always choose a corner table, that way, you can see everyone and noone can sneak up on you." he said. I made a mental note of the tip and leaned back in my chair awaiting Kiros' story.  
  
"Okay, I didn't want to tell you before, because I didn't want you to be thinking about your past. I gave you a new identity not only so that YOU would forget but also so that I would. Your father was a good friend of mine, probably the best friend I ever had. We knew each other as kids and grew up together, then they found out I was a metasite and I was taken to the Garden. Laguna was drafted into the army later on and we met up once again. He was never much of a fighter, always preferred a peaceful solution. Ward and I were the top metasites at the time but we still hung out with your father simply because we knew each other so well. It was an unusual pairing, two of the most powerful metasites and a lowly "D" class soldier. But Laguna eventually spent enough time in the army to finally retire. Once he quit, he began to pursue a career he was always interested in: Journalism. It was funny how our paths would cross again, because once your father completed his Journalist training, he rose to the top very quickly and was soon doing interviews and reports on the top soldiers of Galbadia Garden. It was one of those friendships that never faded, unlike some people, Laguna never changed; he was still the same guy that he was when I first met him. Eventually he moved to Winhill and married your mother, Raine. Shortly after, they had you. I even met you when you were only a few months old although you probably don't remember me since you were too young and your metasite had not began to develop yet. When I heard that you were a metasite, I was afraid. I knew how the Retrieval Squad handled things and I didn't want that to happen to your family. But I was cowardly. Probably the only time where I chickened out of doing something important. I was going to stop the Retrieval Squad, probably how you would have done it. At the same time, I didn't want to jeopardize my job and my position at Garden and at the last minute, I didn't go. I wanted to trust that Laguna would be alright, that he would give up his son freely and not have to fight. But it was inevitable. When I heard the news about your parents' deaths, I broke down. I felt like it was my fault entirely that they were dead and so I decided to take you as my disciple. There is nothing I can do to change the past, but I owed it to your dad to change his future, which means changing you. Like I said, I gave you your new name so that you would be able to get as far away as possible from your past. That new name also keeps me from being haunted every time I hear your father's surname. I'm training you the way your father would have wanted you to be brought up, unfortunately, Garden policy gets in the way and you're forced to kill, something Laguna would have never wanted you to do. But I say, it's better to kill than to be killed and those were the only two choices that were given to you." he sighed and looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry Squall."  
  
The orange juice in the cup started to look a lot more interesting and I kept staring at the pulpy liquid to keep the tears from flowing. I couldn't believe what Kiros was telling me, yet it all made sense. The more I thought about it, the more the pieces of the puzzle started to come together. High class metasites don't just "pick" a student out of the blue and start training them. Kiros had seen my potential but also my horrific past. He shared the pain of losing my father. For a fleeting moment, I was mad at Kiros. I was angry because he had kept all of this information from me for so long. But then I remembered what he had told me weeks ago and I calmed myself down to look at it from a different perspective.  
  
"It's alright. There was nothing you or anybody else could've done. I'm sure my dad would forgive you." I finally managed to choke out the words. It was difficult, but like I had experienced three weeks ago, it's always more difficult to forgive.  
  
Kiros smiled, a satisfied grin that was accompanied by a nod of his head.  
  
"Good Squall, you've already learned how to control your emotions. I'm glad I wasn't wrong about you." he said as he let out a little chuckle.  
  
I grinned and finished my orange juice but just as the last drop of the drink trickled down my throat I heard the TV switch to a sudden breaking news report. Kiros heard it too because I saw him jerk his head up from the table and fix his eyes on the screen.  
  
The reporter stood in front of a pile of smouldering ruins. It took me awhile to realize that she was actually standing in front of a part of Galbadia Garden.  
  
"Just in, an unknown metasite believed to be from Balamb has just been apprehended by the Garden's top forces. The metasite is a long range ballistic weapon specialist that was launching a sneak attack on the Garden from afar. Two teams of high-class metasites rushed out and intercepted the foe before he could get away. The enemy metasite is now in custody and further information will be disclosed when the interrogation is complete. The metasite launched three rounds of high energy bolts from a distance of 3 kilometers and destroyed a large portion of Galbadia Garden's left wing. All humans in the proximity were killed but no metasites suffered serious injuries. More on this story when we come back."  
  
I nearly choked on the orange juice I had just drank. A whole wing was almost destroyed. There were at least two hundred people there at the time. But that was the least of my worries. What I feared was that my friends had been killed. I knew Emi was at the opposite side of the Garden at the time, but Zone was having lessons in Left Wing. Then I thought more clearly and was relieved to remember that no metasites were killed. That brought me to my next thought, which was even more horrible: Ellone. Ellone's office was in Left Wing. She should've gone out for lunch right? Or at least gone to treat some other patients. There wasn't much to do in her office, she probably wouldn't be there unless a new metasite had just been discovered.  
  
I tried to think of every possibility, every loophole that would keep Ellone alive. She meant the world to me, the one person in Garden who helped me when I needed it the most. I kept turning the scenario over in my mind. She would be alright...right?  
  
Kiros decided to do things the practical way.  
  
"Let's go Squall." he said. There was no hint of concern, worry, or fear in his voice. Just cold, hard, determination.  
  
I got up from my seat and shook off all the bad thoughts that had been creeping into my mind. I was going to face whatever the world had to throw at me, no matter how difficult. I would not back down or run away from the truth like I had tried to do when my parents died. If indeed another person whom I cared about had been taken from me, then this time, things would be different. I was no longer a child.  
  
Kiros left some gil on the table and we both walked out of "George's Diner". The sun was just about to set and the air had gotten cooler. I called my metasite, felt the millions of tendrils bury into my skin and connect me to my other half. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kiros do the same. I launched myself straight up onto the roof of the nearest building and made my way back to the Garden.  
  
From a distance, I could already see the wreckage. A giant heap of burned metal that twisted itself away from the Garden. With my enhanced sight, I could make out groups of people standing around trying to clear the stuff away.  
  
Kiros beat me there, but only barely, and we both landed in front of the now destroyed Left Wing. I rushed up to some of the people clearing the stuff away and blasted some of the debris away to make their job easier. Kiros just stood at the back with his arms folded as if watching to see what I would do.  
  
"Does anyone here have a list of casualties?" I asked over the crowd. Everybody stopped working for a few seconds but nobody answered until a girl in the back spoke up.  
  
"Not here, but I know that they have one. It's probably in the infirmary." she said a little shakily. But it was all I needed. I headed to the infirmary dodging students and staff along the way with Kiros still silent on my heels.  
  
I didn't care to knock on the door when I got there, I just invited myself in. The doctor looked surprised to see me but then understood why I was in such a hurry to get there. He shook his head slowly and sighed. I knew right then and there that I would have to face another loss in my life.  
  
"Ellone...didn't make it." he whispered.  
  
I didn't need him to say it. Somehow, this loss hurt far less than any I had experienced prior to that event. Perhaps it was because I was prepared for it. Or maybe it was because I had started to grow accustomed to it. It doesn't matter what happened, all I know is that losing Ellone like this was just as gruesome as losing my parents to the Retrieval Squad. But this time, I had changed. I no longer needed the support and more importantly, I no longer sought revenge. Revenge wasn't what I was looking for, information was. I had to find out what happened and how I could prevent it from happening again.  
  
"Thank you doctor." I replied. I then turned to Kiros who had now removed his metasite armor and I didn't show him any signs of pain or regret. I was going to be strong, I was going to show them all how Squall Leonhart would not be hurt anymore.  
  
AN: Sad chapter, I know TT. But somebody had to write it! If you guys can't take these depressing chapters, then I advise you to stop reading this fic because it continues to get darker. Like I said in one of my previous chapters, this story is going to be a trilogy, there will be a final story that tells of Squall's life after he tells Rinoa about his past. This part of the story is ESSENTIAL for the conclusion of the Metasite saga so bare with me for now! There was also a small bit that refers back to the original Metasite in this chapter (hint: it's in the diner when Squall and Kiros go for their talk ) Now it's time for shout outs to my awesome reviewers!  
  
angel-brokensorrow- Thank you so much for reviewing! Yes, Squall got pretty down and dirty in the last chapter, hope this chapter sort of evened it out. My writing got better?! Wow, must be all those essays I have to write for English class =P Anyways, hope you like this chapter and keep reviewing!  
  
KinOfDragons- Hahaha! Everyone has you to thank for getting this story started again! Yes you're right, Squall went insane in the last chapter, but Kiros prevents him from going crazy in this one lol. Once again, thanks for getting me to write again   
  
Little Sefie Tilmitt- Glad you didn't forget about this fic! If I told you what Squall is going to do next, I'd have to kill you! Lol jk. Please read on and review!  
  
Ari-Morrigan- Ohhhh Good luck with your exams as well! Good question too, I was hoping somebody would pick up on it. I mentioned that the adamantine can become unstable but the suit itself is like a tin can basically. It will crumble when it hits the pavement from that far up. The adamantine however, is liquid which means that it would detatch itself from the suit. That was one of the little details I hoped someone would pick up since I did not mention an explosion when the soldiers hit the pavement =) Please keep reviewing!  
  
Etherealist: Yes we DO all need a break hehe. But I'm back now and ready to get the story rolling again =) It seems you have the same sense of humor as Squall, because he was laughing too!  
  
zornoid13: Thanks for the support Good to hear that my writing hasn't gotten crappier. This chapter seems short too, but that's because there are a lot of long paragraphs in it. Keep reviewing!  
  
Okay! I think that's it! Once again, thank you all for being so great and keeping up with the story. Next update might be a little longer than this one (a week and a half perhaps?) But we'll see Later everybody! 


	13. Chapter 13: Assassination 101

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8 or any of the characters from FF8.  
  
AN: Not as many reviews as last time, but then again, it was a pretty depressing chapter without much action. Nonetheless, it's a major part of the story and it had to be written (trust me, I didn't enjoy writing it that much either hahaha). But this chapter is very entertaining and much more fun to write =).  
  
Chapter 13: Assassination 101  
  
People who are captured in Galbadia are given what is called "The Hole". It is simply an underground chamber with a trapdoor that opens up and a ladder for you to climb in and out of. Human prisoners have the standard steel door and stone walls while metasite prisoners are kept inside a circular room that is surrounded by sixteen layers of solid titanium with an adamantine coating. A metasite would be able to escape from that only with his metablade so the blades are removed and stored in a separate chamber. Hanging from the ceiling of "The Hole" is a single lightbulb. There is nothing protecting the lightbulb so prisoners are free to break it. But you'd have to be either crazy or stupid to do that since once that lightbulb goes, you're surrounded in complete and total darkness for the rest of your days...but the lightbulb is turned off at night anyways. Once you're in "The Hole" you rarely come back out, it's a diet of one piece of bread and one 500 mL bottle of water every day and your best hobby is taking a shit. It's not a very good place to be.  
  
I was going to visit the most recently captured metasite, the long range artillery specialist that had killed Ellone and countless others. I walked down the dark hallway scanning the numbers on the trapdoors as I walked over them. When I reached number 27 I bent down and slid open a tiny spyhole on the door.  
  
"You down there, I want some answers." I said.  
  
I had gotten permission to do the interrogation from Kiros. Around here, what Kiros says, goes.  
  
I heard a small, rough chuckle.  
  
"How old are you?" the voice asked. It was a dry and cracked tone that sounded like it came from something dead. I was surprised since he had only been in "The Hole" for two days, he sounded like he'd been in there for a year.  
  
"I'm asking the questions around here and if you don't like it then you won't get food or water for a day. Keep lipping me off and it'll be two days." I said.  
  
"You don't scare me, I'd rather die in here." he replied sounding oh so tough. No worries though, I knew how to deal with him.  
  
"Oh, I won't let you die. I'll force feed some crap into you through a tube up your ass if I have to. You're going to stay alive, but unless you give me some answers, I'm going to make you wish you were dead."  
  
A long silence ensued after that. I had time, I wasn't going anywhere. Finally, he spoke.  
  
"I'm not saying anything." he said stubbornly. I could hear a small crack in his voice though and I knew I had him.  
  
"Be that way, you're too weak to kill yourself so I'll just come in tomorrow and start the ass feeding. Have fun." I said with a smirk and then I started to walk away when I heard him break down.  
  
"N-no, I'll tell you!" he said. I smiled.  
  
"Good, double rations for you later. Now, who sent you?" I asked triumphantly.  
  
He sighed in defeat.  
  
"Vinzer Deling."  
  
Didn't expect that one. Reports said that he was sent from Balamb, turns out that was inaccurate. Vinzer Deling was always a troublemaker, he was the president of Deling city which was under Galbadian control but the little bastard never like that idea. I'll get into more detail about Deling later, but his eventual fate is shrouded in confusion and only a handful of people actually knew what happened.  
  
For now, just know that Deling has been giving us some trouble for awhile now, but nothing so big as blowing up part of the Garden.  
  
"You know if Deling is sending any more of you guys?" I pressed for more answers.  
  
"No clue, it was a private mission." he said.  
  
"You belong to his army?"  
  
"Hell no, I'm a mercenary. He just paid the best and told me that if I got captured and I told you any of the stuff I'm telling you now, then I'd get none of my pay." he snorted.  
  
I laughed and looked down at him.  
  
"You're not going to get your pay anyways because you're not getting out of here." I said.  
  
It was all I needed to know. I thought about paying the soldier to fight on our side but decided against it. I had to keep the edge on him, once an enemy has been captured, one can never let him have a glimmer of hope. Even if he IS just a mercenary. Nope, that guy was going to stay in "The Hole" for the rest of his lowly life.  
  
I reported everything to Kiros who would then go and pass the information to the commanders and the headmaster. Deling was becoming increasingly annoying and plans were in the works to take him down. But like I said, more on that later.  
  
My friends were trying to comfort me because of Ellone's death. Everyone knew how close I was to her so they all felt sorry for me, the kid who lost his parents and now his "sister". However, in a few days, people saw my attitude and looked upon it as cold and uncaring. I didn't even flinch at the funeral, or bat an eyelash when anyone mentioned her name. I had become a wall of ice, nobody could reach me. The only people who saw through me, were the people who were there with me from the start: Emi, Zone, and Kiros. They saw through my disguise easily.  
  
The next three years passed by quickly and uneventfully. I rose up the ranks and at the age of fourteen I was the commander of a S class squad. Emi and Zone had risen to A class. They would've been looked upon as child prodigies if Seifer and I hadn't been there to overshadow them. Seifer had the skills to command an S class squad as well, but he chose to be a jackass and disobey rules twenty four seven which cost him the job.  
  
As highly ranked as I was, very few people knew me. Galbadia was doing a good job keeping me as their "secret weapon". They publicized Seifer a lot so that people would look to him as the next big thing rather than me. Only a small number of people knew of me after the Sebastian incident. Somehow the news had gotten out to Balamb but they chose to keep it secret as well because letting their men know about me might ruin their morale. So what was their solution? Assassination.  
  
I was never an assassin, Kiros taught me how to fight in large battles against hundreds of opponents or how to duel one-on-one against another metasite. I was never trained to be a stealthy killer that would perform hit and run attacks. I learnt about that through experience.  
  
The first time somebody tried to kill me, it wasn't done very well. They might've underestimated me or they might've simply been testing me. Either way, the assassination attempt wasn't even close to getting rid of me.  
  
Every Wednesday, Kiros would end our lesson early because he had a class. I took this time to go to Deling to grab a teatime snack. It was no different on the day of the attack. I took my usual route and cut through the forest to get to Deling. I had my snack (a hot dog with some root beer) and finished reading the newspaper (which had nothing interesting in it). I chose the same shortcut back to Garden.  
  
As I was walking through the forest, my metasite hearing picked up a small sound. It was the unmistakable sound of a rifle being loaded. Like I said, they weren't very smart because their guns weren't even loaded. I quickly summoned my metasite and ducked behind a nearby tree just as a six inch shell blasted the tree next to me into smithereens. The rifle was high powered but had an extremely large recoil and it took the assassin a lot of time to reload.  
  
Just then, I heard a rustling in the bushes above me and I turned in time to see a green metasite camouflaged within the trees descend on me with his blade drawn. I rolled off to the side and felt the blade cut into the tree. I turned to face my attacker, an adult that was slimly built and carried a long wicked looking knife. There was no time to salute because I could feel another bullet zipping through the air towards me. I then realized that the assassin with the gun's job was to hit me and let the metasite finish me off. That gun was powerful, but not nearly strong enough to kill a metasite.  
  
I jumped straight up and felt the bullet rip into another tree. The metasite mirrored my moves and we were soon both in the thick branches of the trees. I stalled the metasite as I counted the seconds for the gunner to reload. 1...2...CLINK! The metasite attacked and I parried it...3...4...BOOM!  
  
I jerked out of the way and let the bullet fly harmlessly by. I had precisely four seconds to either find the gunner and kill him or kill the metasite. I decided to go with the latter. I charged at the metasite and pushed him back with my blade. The force was enough to knock him into a tree and shatter it. Two and a half seconds left...I drove Lionheart straight through the tree but the metasite had escaped into the tree next to it. Two seconds left, I twisted around, blocked his attack and let out an energy wave into his gut with my free hand. It was enough, he hadn't expected it and had the wind knocked out of him. I seized the opportunity to perform a depth defying turn in mid-air which positioned me right above his head. With half a second left, I brought the blade down and decapitated him.  
  
At the same time, I pushed off hard from the tree to avoid the oncoming projectile. Tracing the path of the bullet, I pinpointed the location of the gunner. With four seconds to get to him, it was almost too easy. I insouciantly crossed the distance between us and saw him jump in surprise as I was on him. This time I had time to salute before driving all three and a half feet of Lionheart's blade into his stomach.  
  
To this day, I still don't know who sent those two assassins. It didn't matter because they weren't very skilled and didn't prove a threat to me at all. I told Kiros about the assassins and to my surprise, he simply shrugged.  
  
"Be prepared, as you get stronger, there will be more and more people who will come after you. Just keep your cool and use the skills I taught you. They shouldn't stand a chance." he said.  
  
The tone of voice in which he used led me to believe that he was speaking from experience.  
  
Kiros was right, but only up to a certain extent. There were many more assassination attempts made on me but only two of them actually came close to their objective.  
  
The first one was an assassination attempt from Balamb. I was fifteen at the time and I had just finished having dinner at Emi's apartment. It was late and snowing outside when I left to go back to Garden. Julia of course offered me to stay at their play but I politely refused, I would regret that choice later.  
  
I always liked snow, it was peaceful and serene quite unlike myself. I was watching my footsteps in the icy ground when my eyes caught sight of the tiniest shadow on the white surface. I thought I was just imagining things because it was so faint. I minimized my walking distance without slowing down my pace. The CLUMP CLUMP CLUMP of my boots on the ground was constant but I wasn't moving forward as much. After about ten seconds of my "delayed walking" I caught sight of him.  
  
A dark purple metasite shrouded in what looked like a leathery cloak. It was a move made purely by instinct, one that saved my life. My metasite wrapped itself around my body and I turned my body sideways pressing myself flat to the side of the building. The killer had a pincer like metablade that was attached to some sort of launching mechanism. If I had been just ten steps closer, I would've been dead. But luckily I moved much slower and was able to keep myself ten paces from where he anticipated I would be. The projectile was so fast that even from that range, it nicked my arm and caused a foot long gash down my forearm. The cut wasn't deep, and I could still fight so I ignited Lionheart and brought it down on the chord connecting the blade to its master's arm. Lionheart slid down the length of the slimy material and failed to cut it. It didn't look good for me at that moment and I knew I had to do something fast or I was a dead metasite.  
  
The pincer like blades retracted so quickly I didn't even see it move. Before I knew it, the enemy metasite had once again launched his deadly weapon at me. However, I was prepared this time and fast as it was, I was able to get myself out of the way before it could take another swipe at me. I had retreated to the roof of the closest building, with the metasite hot on my trail. I knew I only had one chance against a foe like this. Fighting him from a distance wasn't going to do me any good, he would win for sure. I had to close the gap and minimize the usefulness of that clawlike blade of his. I stood on one end of the building while he stood on the other, a tense moment where we each planned our next move. It was a guessing game, but I had the upper hand since he had been doing all the attacking, I knew exactly what his arsenal consisted of.  
  
TSEEEEERR! The blade ripped through the air straight at my neck. I twitched my head just slightly and felt the two prongs miss by millimeters. Then I ran straight at him with my blade outstretched. My aim had to be true, a single blow that had to bring him to submission. Then I heard his blade start to retract and I realized I wouldn't have time to strike him before his blade was back in launching position. I slowed down my heart rate and took one deep breath, then with one flick of my wrist, I threw Lionheart straight at him. It was a race between my blade and his.  
  
Mine won by a hair's length.  
  
I walked over to the dark warrior. My blade was stuck straight up from the ground out of his chest. I wrapped my fingers around the handle and yanked Lionheart out of his body and the ground. I saluted my now fallen adversary and sheathed my blade not showing any signs of emotion from the frightening fight.  
  
I found out afterwards that the metasite was from Balamb because a cleaning guy discovered his body on the roof the next day. They did a search of his body and found some sort of cloaking device that minimized the shadows his body would cast. That little tool was traced back to a lab in Balamb which is how they found out where he was from. Balamb wasn't trying to hide their identity, they were already our enemies so it was natural for them to be attacking us. But the peculiar part was that they were aiming for me in particular which raise a lot of eyebrows around the Garden. Most people just brushed it off as a coincidence, but some were getting suspicious as to how they found out about me. The assassination attempt was planned well, the assassin used the snow to cover his shadow well and the city was empty at that time of day since most people were about to go to bed or were snowed in. Nevertheless, I escaped with only a minor injury on my arm, not enough to scar me for life. My scar would come later on, and it would not be pretty.  
  
As I said, there were TWO attempts to kill me that almost worked. Although the first one got me to be MUCH more alert when walking in the snow, the second one started something way bigger, something that would change history.  
  
About three months after the assassin from Balamb attacked me, the headmaster asked to see me in his office. It was a little exhibition match that he wanted me to attend. Vinzer Deling was hosting some sort of celebration for his son's birthday and he wanted to show off the best metasite warriors in the world. It would be a friendly sparring match between Deling's best soldier and Galbadia's best soldier. Martine was about to send Seifer, but the bloke had come down with a fever the week before so he decided to send me. "One publicity event shouldn't give you TOO much attention." he said. So Kiros and I agreed to do it.  
  
The next day I was sent to Deling with a bunch of reporters and a group of cadets who were going to watch me fight. I was actually pretty excited and wanted to see just how good I was. Kiros had told me that I would kill 95% of the metasites in the world for sure and the last 5% would be like tossing a coin, the outcome would be random. So far I had only faced down a bunch of assassins and only one of them had proven a threat. But this was different, they would not be able to sneak attack me and catch me off guard. This time, it was a fair fight.  
  
We went to Deling stadium, a huge dome where people seated themselves all around the sides and looked down on the main attraction. It was filled with different colored balloons and ribbons and the central field had been cleared of everything and covered with sand to look like an old coliseum. I was escorted into a small room just outside the stage where I would be fighting. There, an attractive young lady sat me down and began reading out the rules making sure I knew exactly what was going on.  
  
"Okay, once Mr. Deling finishes his speech, those gates over there will open. You are to walk in and greet the crowd. Walk into the center of the arena and salute Mr. Deling and his family. Stay in the center as your opponent, the local fighter, is introduced. Then an umpire will instruct both of you to take a spot on either side of the arena and face each other. You may then duel your opponent in a respectable manner. No blood will be drawn since this is only an exhibition match, we trust that your skills are high enough to prevent accidental injuries or death. Is all of that clear?" she asked. I nodded, took a deep breath, and ran a hand through my long dark hair. I wasn't nervous at all, I knew exactly what I had to do and how to do it. I was also the underdog so people wouldn't have any expectations of me. It was a win-win situation for me and I was feeling pretty good about it.  
  
Deling's speech was pretty boring, something about how children are the future and how proud he would be the day he can hand over the city of Deling to his son, another tub of lard spoiled brat. I sort of dozed off and didn't pay much attention to the whole thing but then I heard applause from the crowd and saw the gate in front of me start to slowly creep open.  
  
When it was fully open, I saw the thousands of people who had come to watch the event. I smiled and walked through the gates not knowing just how much trouble I was getting myself into.  
  
AN: Hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. This one was really fun 'cause I had to think of all the different ways of killing a metasite =P Lots of thought went into this one but it was worth it, it's also quite a bit longer than my usual chapter. Sorry I had to end it with a cliff hanger but that's how I get you guys to read and review the next chapter! Muahaha =) A lot of people asked how much darker the fic can get. Well, the answer is...not much hahaha. Actually, it doesn't really get dark at all until the very end of the fic which I won't spoil for you guys. Just keep reading! Shout out time!  
  
angel-brokensorrow- Thanks for the compliments =D Hmmm you raise a good point when you say Kiros should be more sad telling Squall about Laguna. I never thought of it that way since I always perceived Kiros as a strong figure in the story who has seen lots of death in his life. He more or less just doesn't want to face it again so he tries to procrastinate for as long as possible even though he knows one day he has to tell Squall about his relationship with Laguna. shrug but that's just me lol. Little Sefie Tilmitt- Yup, look flabbergasted up in the dictionary hahaha. Actually my friend's brother uses that word a lot so that's how I ended up sticking it in there =P Hope you liked this chapter, more action, less sadness hahaha. Ari-Morrigan- As I said before, you're one of the sharpest reviewers here Doesn't seem like you read the chapters very many times yet you picked up on a lot of the things I tried to hide lol. Shhhh don't say anything about Emi and Zone though! Just wait for that one hehe and keep reviewing!  
  
Venom's Savior- Thanks for the review! You're another sharp one. I prepared the reader for the worst because that's what was going through Squall's mind at the moment and since the story is told in past tense, it makes sense. Hope you continue to read and review!  
  
Only 4 reviews this week TT Oh well, I'm just hoping for more next week hahaha. I'm soooo greedy lol. Thanks everybody, stay tuned for Chapter 14: The Fall of a Tyrant. 


	14. Chapter 14: Fall of a Tyrant

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8 or any of the characters from FF8.  
  
AN: SOOOOO sorry for the long delay between updates. Thanks for all the reviews last time! I thought you guys would've liked that chapter hehe. This one should be quite similar since it's more or less a continuation of the last one. I used that little detour into assassination to introduce the next important event which is in this chapter. Hope you guys like it!  
  
Chapter 14: Fall of a Tyrant  
  
"And now I present to you Balamb's highest ranking metasite, SQUALL LEONHART!" came the loud voice of the announcer. The applause was a small ripple from the audience. I was relatively unknown and nobody really cared about me. They wanted to see their own champion, the best Deling had to offer.  
  
I did as I was told and walked into the center of the coliseum feeling slightly out of place but trying to hide it. I waved a bit sheepishly to the crowd and then saluted Deling and his family with my sword. The president of Deling city looked at me with something between a grin and a sneer on his face and it disturbed me.  
  
Deling was a man of about fifty. He was built quite stocky but not very tall, he was also slightly balding with flecks of white in his charcoal grey hair. But people didn't look at his hair. They say that Deling is the greatest motivator of all time, something about his eyes that draw people to him. His understanding of language is unparalleled and his speeches contain a vibrant power but at the same time a fluent grace. I looked straight into his hard grey eyes and felt a sense of deep happiness flood through my body. But I fought it off. Something was not right with Deling, there was no doubt about that.  
  
"The newest and strongest force that Deling has ever had is here today...Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for...KUREDO!" the booming speakers blasted the last word out so loud I could feel the vibration on the floor.  
  
The crowd was dead silent for a moment then it seemed as if they suddenly cranked the volume to maximum. Everybody in the stadium started cheering like mad. I was curious as to who this "Kuredo" person was. I didn't have to wait long.  
  
All of the gates in the stadium were open now. It came to a total of 8 gates with me in the center of the octagon. It puzzled me as to why they did this because when I walked out I distinctly remembered only one gate being open. I could also hear movement from inside all the gates but couldn't see clearly what was going on. I just stood in the center with the foundations of tension building around me. I was flicking my eyes from one gate to another getting increasingly confused. I knew it was an exhibition match and that nobody would get hurt, but was this part of the match? Perhaps a grander introduction to their champion? I had no clue.  
  
Then I heard a deep scratchy sound from the gate behind me. It sounded like an anchor being dragged behind a ship. Instinctively I turned around and once again, my gut feeling saved my life.  
  
I only caught a brief glimpse of it but it was enough to get me moving. It was definitely a metablade, the glowing sickle was a dead giveaway. It was a wicked curved blade attached to a chain the length of the entire stadium. I was ordered not to draw my blade and I was afraid that if I did then I might disturb Galbadia-Deling relations so I held off on drawing Lionheart. Instead, I used the extendable blade on my arm and tried to cut the chain. It was like trying to cut steel with a butter knife.  
  
The blade missed me by a few inches because I side-stepped out of the way. I had my eyes fixed on the gate where the chain came out of. The blade was imbedded on the other end of the arena. Suddenly, it was yanked back by it's owner causing me to jump out of the way again.  
  
I was slightly nervous now, not sure whether or not I should draw my blade since this might be just some sort of publicity stunt. If it indeed was a stunt, then it was one hell of a dangerous stunt. I decided to hold out a little longer before letting Lionheart loose. It certainly seemed like the chain wielder was aiming to kill.  
  
Then from a gate to my right I heard a zipping sound getting louder and louder. I reacted by leaping backwards, a good move since an extremely fast orange blur cut a yard long gash in the ground where I was standing half a second ago. I finally saw the metasite step out of the shadows. He was quite a stocky guy that had huge arms and spines growing from his back. He caught the blade that made cut on the ground in one hand and I got a good look at the design of his weapon. It was built like a boomerang but almost three times the size. The orange blades were attached at an angle so that the weapon would return to its owner when thrown.  
  
If it were a one on one fight against this metasite, I was sure I could win. However, it was much worse than that. I hadn't forgotten about the chain blade that almost took my head off. Its master decided to show himself as well. A slimmer metasite with a black and blue armor that held the chain in both hands. The blade of the chain was resting on the ground creating a ghostly blue glow on the place where he stood.  
  
"May I present to you, the leaders of Kuredo, BIGGS and WEDGE!"  
  
It had just turned ugly. A duel had been changed to a two on one fight. But something bothered me...the announcer said that Biggs and Wedge were only the LEADERS of Kuredo. Which meant that I was in for a lot of trouble.  
  
Metasites came out of all the gates all of a sudden. I was completely surrounded. It wasn't a pretty sight. I counted thirteen metasites in total including Biggs and Wedge whom I had already met. By this time, it had become pretty obvious that this was no exhibition match. Even the crowd started to get suspicious since the first two attacks on me were so dangerously close to hitting home. The loud cheers that had greeted me when I entered the stadium had dissipated to a low murmur. I was trying my best to stay calm while scanning the stadium for people I knew. I couldn't find anyone. All the metasites surrounding me with the exception of Biggs and Wedge were carrying different size swords. I was devising a strategy to win this seemingly impossible to win fight.  
  
Two things saved me from being killed here. One was my own ability to stay cool during an intense situation. I was thinking straight and did not panic and go on a sudden rampage. If I did that, I would have been dead. I waited it out with them, letting them walk around me in circles fingering their weapons and searching for an opening.  
  
The second thing that saved me was my reputation. I recognized a bunch of the metasites and I knew that they weren't from Deling. They were mostly bounty hunters, some good some mediocre. But all of them knew who I was. They knew how fast I could draw that sword of mine. They knew that I could whip that blade out so quickly the air around it would crack. They knew...that whoever tried to cut me first...got cut. This meant that nobody wanted to make the first move. They all watched my left hand, partly why I was so dangerous since the lefty attack was the opposite of a standard strike.  
  
I saw their eyes on my sword hand. I could see their brains working. If I drew my sword with my left hand, I would be hamburger meat before I could get 6 inches of Lionheart's blade out. This gave me an idea. It was my only chance at survival. I had to trust my reputation and put it to good use.  
  
I took a deep breath and then in one fluid motion, brought my right hand down to Lionheart's pistol grip and ignited the blade. With one backwards thrust, I impaled one of the metasites, then I swept the blade to the side and tore through two other metasites. Then I switched the handle to my left hand and it was all over for them. It wasn't a case of skill or power. It was all in how I executed the attack. They were so surprised that in one second I dropped three of their men that they forgot how to attack. They panicked and just started swinging wildly which is an open invitation for me to take them down one by one. I located the weakest guy and charged him down breaking their circle then it was all a matter of dueling. They lined up so nicely and I just butchered them all including the leaders who were trying to get far enough away to use their ranged weapons. Bounty hunters weren't trained killers. They were cowardly assassins who were a step below mercenaries. Judging by the amount of bounty hunters that had shown up, they must've placed a really high bounty on my head.  
  
I turned to the crowd now speechless at the horror in front of them.  
  
"I don't know who set me up for this, but it doesn't matter. You failed." I said the final two words straight to Vinzer Deling. I knew he was the one behind this and whether it be a coincidence or something more, I was the one who took Seifer's place.  
  
To this day I still don't know whether or not Deling's assassination attempt had been directed at me or Seifer. It wasn't like Seifer to turn up sick at an event like this, but then again there was no way Martine could know that Deling had set up a trap for his strongest metasite. I know for a fact Martine had no clue what was going on because of what happened afterwards.  
  
I threatened to take out everybody in the stadium if they didn't let me leave. I didn't have to wait long before the stadium had a clear line straight to the exit. I had to return to Galbadia for orders on what to do next. Deling had disappeared right after I had finished speaking to him. Even my highly toned senses couldn't detect his presence.  
  
I returned to Galbadia alone. The other people I went to Deling with were all missing.  
  
Once I got back, I reported everything to Martine. He looked like he had a 12 inch knife jammed into his gut when I told him what happened.  
  
"We can't let this stand. Galbadia Garden has to take full control of Deling, since there's obviously something wrong with Vinzer Deling. I'll dispatch a team to take him out tomorrow. Squall, you'll lead one squadron and Seifer will lead the other. It shouldn't be too much of a problem."  
  
I saluted and left the office in search of Kiros. The veteran soldier was having a cup of coffee at the cafeteria. When he saw me he smiled and gave me the thumbs up. I didn't return it.  
  
After giving him the full details of the story (and I couldn't resist telling him the full play by play version of how I killed "Kuredo") Kiros was actually laughing.  
  
"Well, now you know you're more than a match for Deling's best." he joked. His nonchalant tone of voice made me forget about how serious a situation this was.  
  
"Kiros, don't you see? There's going to be a war between Galbadia and Deling starting tomorrow and I'm the cause of it!" I said. I was getting increasingly concerned and wanted Kiros' support badly.  
  
"Nonesense," he waved me off "it was bound to happen sooner or later. Deling's stupid assassination attempt is just the final straw that sends the wheelbarrow rolling."  
  
"But still, I'm the reason why hundreds of men must die. I started it all." I argued.  
  
"No, Deling started it. If he wants to do stupid things, let him. He's just going to get himself killed."  
  
"Killing Deling is no problem, he's not exactly a saint. But I don't want to kill any more innocent people. They had nothing to do with it." I said.  
  
"They have everything to do with it if they choose to fight on Deling's side. You can't think this way in war. Either he's an enemy or he's a friend, if he's an enemy, you kill him." Kiros said.  
  
Truth was, I didn't care if innocents died. I never cared. I just didn't want to go back to Deling. That attempt to kill me was too close for comfort and I didn't intend to go back for round two.  
  
Nonetheless, I was not one to argue with Kiros or Martine. The very next day, Galbadia had declared war on Deling and I was to be shipped to Deling once again to lead Delta Squadron. Delta was the Squad that would charge Deling's mansion and bring Vinzer down any way possible, including death. This war was not going to last more than one day and Martine made sure of that.  
  
Martine only sent two Squadrons. One was much larger than the other. I led the smaller one while Seifer led the main strike team. His team would charge directly at the front gates of Deling and take them by force, they would open up a clear path for us to get to Deling's mansion.  
  
The force I commanded wasn't very large. Just a team of twelve men and another metasite. It made fourteen of us including myself, we were not meant to fight a huge battle, just go in quick and take the mansion. Deling was likely going to put up a fight and if he did, we had permission to kill him. This would be no fluffy negotiations thing. This was a full out war.  
  
I focused my eyes on Seifer's team. They were intelligently hidden in a nearby forest. If Seifer did his job right, they would be able to take the gates real quickly since Deling had only staked out two metasites on the guard towers. It seems as though Deling had no metasites which was why Vinzer put a bounty on my head and got those hunters to try to collect it. Seifer's squad had five metasites including himself and they were more than a match for the Deling defenses. Deling just didn't know it yet, but he was going to witness first hand the power of SeeD.  
  
Seifer whipped out his blade and gave it one quick swipe indicating the start of an attack. I saw each of his men charge from the undergrowth and head straight for the guarded walls of the city. Gunfire blazed from the bunkers on the wall, but it was no match for metasite strength. The five metasites easily scaled the walls and knocked out the threats to the mobile infantry. The humans followed as a cleanup squad, using grappling hooks to get up the heavy walls of the city. The metasites cut through infantry like hot butter, Seifer being especially ruthless. His skill with a blade had improved just as mine had even though we stopped training with each other. Hyperion, Seifer's broadsword, was heavy enough and fast enough to knock three or four mens' heads off with one swing and Seifer used it to deadly efficiency.  
  
When the five metasites of Galbadia met the two metasites of Deling, it really was no contest. Seifer actually ordered the other metasites to step aside and faced the Deling metasites alone. One of them held a lance that was effective on the wide walls that they were fighting on but Seifer's sword easily blocked its thrusts. The other metasite carried a cane sword, a sword with no guard that was thin and looked like a cane with blades on both ends. This sword would have been deadly had Seifer's weapon not been so strong. The thin blade of the cane sword was no match for the strong flat edge of Hyperion. It wasn't long before both metasites were lying in a crumpled heap at Seifer's feet with metasite blood drenching the ground.  
  
I knew it was my turn, the road was clear and all I had to do was go in and finish off Deling. I turned to my men. Leadership was never really my thing, but I understood what had to be done and did it even if I didn't like it.  
  
"Alright, we're not gonna be outdone by Squad A. Our job's more important and I intend to complete it perfectly. Deling intends to fight to the end. Let him die trying then. Deling must die."  
  
I whipped out Lionheart and hopped on the transport taking us to the battlefield. My men were enthusiastic and they gave a cheer as we approached the scene.  
  
Once there, I flat out sprint down the secured road towards Deling's mansion. The metasite on my squad, someone named Darien, was close behind me while the infantry continued to travel in the vehicle. We got there first, Deling's mansion was a big white building that had a large balcony overlooking his huge front yard. The automated defenses sprang into action, turrets began to unfold from every possible place, under bushes, the garden, statues of Vinzer Deling, everywhere. Machine gun fire raked the lawn towards Darien and I but I stood my ground calmly. With a flick of my wrist I unleashed a telekinetic wave that turned all the turrets into scrap metal. Then it was a clear walk into Deling mansion. Darien just stood dumbstruck at the destroyed machinery on the front yard.  
  
The foyer was empty, figured it to be that way since all of Deling's men were sent to the front gates. Apparently, the city only had a handful of metasites and none of them were with Deling at the moment, not too smart if you ask me.  
  
"Split up, I don't know the building well. First one to find Deling, kill him. If you run into trouble, knock out a wall or something so I know where you are." I told Darien.  
  
He nodded. He was a smart soldier, I'd never seen him fight, but he followed orders well and never questioned his superiors even if I WAS six years his junior.  
  
I took the first floor while Darien took the second. I figured Deling would be trying to escape instead of corner himself. Deling's courtyard was right in the middle of his house, just like the Garden, it was well equipped with automatic defenses. Once I entered, I was attacked by bullets from all angles. I used the same tactic as before and short circuited the mechanical menageries. After minutes of searching I still couldn't find the tyrannical leader.  
  
"DARIEN!" I yelled from the courtyard.  
  
I was hoping he had completed the task and was searching for me. I got no response.  
  
Making my way upstairs, I began to search for not only Deling, but also my teammate. I could hear the tiniest of movements, not something from a fight. They were coming from a room with a closed door. A bedroom.  
  
I kicked open the door and was met by about 12 shurikens all aimed for my vital organs. They were moving way too slow to actually hit me though. Once the shock of the booby trap had passed, I was met with an even greater shock.  
  
Sitting at his desk in front of a giant window, was none other than Vinzer Deling. But that wasn't the shocking part...what made my jaw drop was the fact that Darien was standing right beside him with a maniacal gleam in his eye.  
  
AN: There, finally done! Sorry about the delay again, I'm having exams in a few weeks so I really need to study. I promise that after these few weeks, I'll get cracking on the story again. Unfortunately, really pressed on time right now so no shouts this time -- 


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